The Butterfly Assassin
by PlainStoryTeller
Summary: Chelsea was at the bridge between life and death. Her life was in the hands of Natala, someone a long time ago she considered dear. She was at his mercy and she knew that there would be no such mercy. The voices of the dead were ringing in her ears again through the confines of her headphones. Would she join the voices in the moments that were to follow? Or live to see another day?
1. Prologue - Kill Her

**The Butterfly Assassin**

**Prologue – Kill Her**

_**Donney: **How many times have I told you that you're too cocky Chelse? It's going to get you killed one day._

_**Chelsea: **Don't worry about me Donney! I've made it out of plenty of sticky situations, this one isn't any different._

Donney, a childhood friend of Chelsea's voice rang in her head as she ran through the forest, disguised as the recently deceased Bors. "What's this...?" There was such an uneasy feeling felt at the pit of her stomach. This feeling was not stranger to Chelsea, as she felt it with the palm of her hand. It throbbed, and churned, and turned, and tickled. "Bors..." That's right, it was her conscience tugging at her. It was guilt she was feeling. Guilt that she was all too familiar with.

_Please, make sure that my family is safe..._

"How bold..." Chelsea told herself remembering Bors last request, "For him to request to his killer, to protect his family" She rubbed her face, and inside, she smiled bittersweetly. She was smiling at his devotion to his family, but it felt so strange, to feel happy for someone she had sworn revenge upon.

She was hearing voices again, and after a moments pause to try to get them out of her head, she quivered. These voices wouldn't shut up, they would stop for a while, but then come again like waves of the ocean. It was as if the voices of everyone she's killed were haunting her. It drove her nearly insane at first, but as it kept happening over the years, she just got so accustomed to it. Yet, whenever it happened, the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach would always come and go.

"I made a promise" she pressed onward, "And I intend to keep it."

Was this her way of trying to fight her guilt? She didn't know, but something inside her just told her to do it. Despite knowing that Bors was responsible for killing her family, her friends, and her home, part of her felt that she could at least do that much to help him die in peace. She had gotten her revenge, and the request that Bors made was that of an ordinary father, simply requesting that his family live on.

"_We all have to decide for ourselves, how much sin we can live with"_ That quote rang in her head exactly like the first time she heard it. "He lived with so much burden..." Chelsea wondered as she continued through the forest, in hunt of Kurome, "It makes me feel so weak in comparison."

"_There!" _Her sights were on Kurome, who was sitting on a tree stump eat her candy. Kurome's superhuman senses caused her to turn around and stay alert, but she soon calmed down as she saw Chelsea disguised as Bors.

Quickly, Chelsea said, "Ah! I knew it, it's Kurome!" And with that, her plan, after years and years of lament, had finally begun to take completion.

**ooo**

Or so she thought. Chelsea's heavy panting was heard as she was running, as fast as she could. "_I gouged a vital! I gouged..."_ She failed in killing Kurome, and had no other option but to run. She clenched her fist, feeling her fingers in her right hand, and then that image of her losing her fingers flashed in her mind.

"_That dream..."_ This same moment came to her in a dream many years back. A dream where she witnessed her own death. However, as time passed, that dream became more and more faded, and actually felt like a dream instead of an omen to her. Her confidence in Gaea Transformation was so great, she thought she was invincible. But now, Gaea Transformation was gone, and all she had left of it was a few lollipops and it's trump card, with which took the form of a bottle of perfume clenched in her left hand. She had no idea what it did because it was never needed, yet, in a desperate situation like this, it was all or nothing.

But before she had the opportunity to use it, one of Kurome's puppets had jumped from behind to block her path before her. As she stood there, frozen, the puppets face had nearly stopped Chelsea's heart from beating. "Natala...?!" she gagged as the face of the man she fell in love with stared at her with intense rage.

She could have done something, but she just stood there from the shock and surprise before Natala hefted his spear and lunged forward. Chelsea reacted as she jumped backward, but it was too late. She felt a sharp pain at her elbow as she witnessed her right arm being severed. Blood splattered out as the dream suddenly felt more and more alive. "This isn't... a dream..." she whispered in desperation to herself.

BANG! The sound of a gun firing was heard as she felt a sharp pain in her side. "At least... I saw that one coming..." She after stepping slightly to the side a fraction of a second before the gun was fired. She felt blood force it's way out of her mouth as she fell backwards.

Her eyes were wide as Chelsea had come to realize, "_That wasn't... a dream..._"

Natala then proceeded to mount Chelsea and raised his spear as he held her down by the neck. She simply stared into his eyes, confused and shocked as to what was going on. "_Ah... I see... So the one who receives retribution is me..._" her monologue began. "_What happened Natala...? Was I too weak to kill you myself? Was this my fault... that you have to suffer, even while dead? Your smiling face turned to horror as I saw you die at the hand of Kurome..." _Chelsea's heart stung as she remembered why she opted to hunt down Kurome. It wasn't just because Kurome was a massive threat, it was because Kurome had taken something so dear to Chelsea away, love. Ever since that day, she had swore at nothing to avenge his death.

"_Revenge huh...? Is this what happens when I try to get it?" _Chelsea wondered as she began to cry, "_These voices, they won't stop..." _And then suddenly, she began to see her life flash before her eyes. Then she remembered, how it all started. This path of loss and retribution that she walked along, she began to see it all.

_**A/N: BAM Hey guys, PlainStoryTeller here and I'm here with a fanfic about, you guessed it, Chelsea! Now if you're someone like me, you know that Chelsea had such potential to be a good part of the Night Raid, but alas, the author decided to off her. I can't blame them, but I can't help but feel sad about a character so brutally cast away. So you know what I do? I write about it! **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'll be back with another chapter soon, along with updates for the rest of my fanfics!**_

_**UPDATE: I revamped the entire first chapter since I didn't feel like it was a very good prologue. Also, I keep changing the story summary! XD, I don't know, it just never feels just right to me, but I think this one will be a keeper. Tell me what you guys think about it! **_


	2. Her World, Her Future

**Chapter 1 – Her World, Her Future**

_**Mister Tong: **You see here Chelsea, be careful when you insert a needle anywhere on the back of the neck. Normally it will relieve all pressure built up and relax the nerves. But push it in too deep and you could puncture an artery that will bleed out and drown the brain._

_**Chelsea:** Way to not pressure me Mister Tong._

_**Mister Tong:** Don't worry, you'll have to forcefully insert it in if you want that effect. _

**ooo**

There is a village out in the countryside on the western side of the empire. This was the only world that Chelsea knew of. Anything and everything was so foreign, so exotic to her. As a child, she couldn't help but wonder what was out there in the world. However, as she grew up to a young teenager, it became more and more apparent to her the reality of the place she called her world.

Often times she would see poorer families forced off their homes because they couldn't pay the painstakingly high taxes that were imposed. Rumors spread that those families would be sold off as slaves, and despite trying to deny it, Chelsea couldn't eliminate the possibility.

Other times, she would see beggars on the streets, asking for money. Their hearts were made of gold, but with each time they asked and begged, they would lose a bit of their pride, until eventually, they gave up. Days later she would see them, lying there, no longer begging.

Times would be so bad that girls her age would be forced to prostitution. Chelsea would sometimes see them accompany some older women in order to get patrons. But it was of no use, and no matter what Chelsea could think of to help these girls out, it would already be too late. Their beautiful veins were accompanied by bloodshot eyes. Drugs seemed inescapable, like a plague riding through the slums.

Fortunately for her though, her family made just enough income to avoid all that. Her father worked for a government official who managed to get her into a good school. Not passing up the opportunity, she studied well, and hard, for her parents sake.

"What's your deal Chelse?" The voice of a boy called out as he flicked her on the noggin. "You day dreaming again?"

His finger hit with a stinging pain on Chelsea's forehead as she held both hands up to rub the red spot, "Ow! You're gonna pay for that Donney!" She squealed in return as she began slapping him in randomized spots. That's the price they pay for going to school. So many people cannot afford it.

"Ack ack alright!" Donney squawked in return, flinching in retaliation, "Sorry jeez!"

Chelsea sighed, as she took a look around herself. The campus of school was quiet, since there were so few students enrolled.

"No seriously, what's on your mind Chelse?" The boy Donney asked as he sat down on the grass next to her, legs spread out and a carrot in his mouth, munching away.

The breeze blew her hair as her butterfly headband rustled with the wind, "Nothing..." She turned to look at him, but he was already staring at her with a skeptical face.

Donney was smiling, "You're thinking about me aren't you?" he leered.

"Only about the way I'll punch you if you say something like that again!" She threatened in reply as she flicked him in the noggin the same way he did to her just moments before.

Donney is a classmate of Chelsea's who sits right next to her in class. Often times they would get paired up for assignments, and they became fast friends. He was a very upiddity boy with a bubbly personality. Although he was quite scrawny, he was somewhat lean and stood upright. His black hair had a very faint tint of blue, and he would usually wear a grin on his face, or be seen munching on a carrot. His eyesight surprised Chelsea when she first met him. It was like he had the eyes of a hawk, probably because of all the carrots he ate.

The boy only grimaced in return as he turned away, "It's about the families isn't it?" Donney knew the situation well enough to understand what was on Chelsea's mind. "If you're scared you might become like them-"

"I'm not."

Her reaction came as no surprise to Donney.

"I'll get a good job someday, and then I'll make a comfortable living, and then marry into a comfortable family. That way, we don't have to worry about becoming slaves and beggars." Chelsea determinately said as she stood up as the bells rang to go to class.

"I know the story Chelse" Donney replied as he wiped his hands on his pants after finish his carrot. "Maybe I'll join the military, help fight crime and all that stuff. Hell, maybe I'll even work under General Esdese!" He cupped his hands behind his head.

"You honestly think you've think you've got what it takes to join?" Chelsea asked skeptically as they began walking.

Donney shrugged in response, "Sure, why not you know?"

**ooo**

School ended like usual as Chelsea began walking back from school. "_It's just a normal day..."_ Usually she would take a left turn at this street to head home, but instead, she took a right and kept walking until she reached the entrance of a small clinic. On the front glass, it said "Acupuncturist", and as she entered, an elderly sounding man greeted her.

'Why hello there Chelsea! You're quite early today you know" He said with a very lively tone.

"Hello to you too Mister Tong" Chelsea replied, popping a lolipop into her mouth, "I just got out of school, so I figured that I might as well come here right after."

Mister Tong, as everyone called him, was an oriental man who hailed from the Western Kingdom. Despite people being racist against those who came from the West, he always maintained a positive and kind nature. Chelsea seemed not to mind too much about it, as, he did take her in as his apprentice after all.

She had been working for him for the last month or so to help bring in some more money just in case her parents slipped. Chelsea thought of it as a precaution, a backup plan just in case. Honestly, the reason he picked her up was quite strange. She remembered walking home from school, and she took a wrong turn and ended up wandering into his clinic asking for directions. But instead of replying with directions, he simply asked,

"_Are you stressed?"_

_It was a question Chelsea was ill-prepared to reply to, but she slightly nodded, "I j-just got into a new school. "_

_Mister Tong nodded in reply, "Can I see your arm?"_

_A little bit hesitant, Chelsea held her hand out, trying hard not to trust him too much. _

_He held it gently and pulled her shirt sleeve back. Running his fingers across her palm and wrist. Then, with a gentle face, he reached into a box and pulled a small needle out, "Try to relax as much as you can. This won't hurt, trust me" Holding the needle tip close to his gripped fingers, he pressed it into her wrist and held it there for a second. It felt like a prick, but not painful, rather, different. After a few seconds, he pulled it out and massaged Chelsea's palm. "Do you feel your stress going away?"_

_It didn't seem like anything changed, but within a few seconds, her mind was clearing up a bit, and she began to panic less and less. "Y-yea..."_

"_Good, now to get back, you go to the street where you took a right, and make a left instead." Mister Tong said patting her shoulder. Before she stood up to leave, the oriental man added, "Oh, and would you like a job here? Your hands seem very capable for this kind of work, and I kind of want someone to pass my knowledge onto." And just like that, Mister Tong offered her a job._

As the glass window says, Mister Tong is an acupuncturist, and the only one in the village and the areas surrounding the area. So often times he would get very high profile customers such as government officials and royalty from nearby lands.

"So tell me Chelsea..." Mister Tong began to say as he laid a few plates of food on the table for dinner, "What do you hope to gain out of going to school?"

Chelsea thought about it for a moment while scooping rice into her mouth with chopsticks, "I want to just live comfortably. Not having to worry about anything that will interrupt my daily life"

Mister Tong nodded as he scooped himself some rice, "You know, there's a saying back where I come from. No one can live comfortably if others do not."

The girl gave him a tilted head of confusion, "What's that mean?"

"Think of it this way. If others are suffering around you, how can you live comfortably knowing they don't?" Tong challenged. It took Chelsea rather speechless to try to respond, but she couldn't. The old man chuckled when he saw this, "Don't give it too much mind. It's not like a girl like you or an old man like me can do anything to help them"

As they sat down for a meal, a voice was calling from outside, "Oi! Chelsea!" That was he muffled voice of a boy Chelsea knew all too well. As she opened the window, she was not surprised to see Donney waving his arms out with a blunt smile on his face, "I don't want to walk home alone! And I smell food! Mind if I join you?"

"No! Go away-" Chelsea began to holler back before Mister Tong covered her mouth with has hand and pulled her back, "Come now child! There's plenty for one more person!"

Chelsea freed her mouth and asked, "Now why'd you go and do that for?"

Mister Tong simply chuckled in reply, "Hear hear Chelsea, he's clearly a friend of yours right?"

"I guess..." She replied with a slight roll of her eyes and a pout.

**ooo**

"Thank you for the meal Mister Tong!" Donney replied with a customary bow of appreciation.

"Don't mention it Donney" The elderly man replied as he rubbed Chelsea's head, "Any friend of Chelsea's is a friend of mine."

Chelsea was busy holding a cup of tea close to her mouth as she smiled slightly at Mister Tong.

"Well, look at the time" Mister Tong said, standing up, "It's about time for you two to get home. Otherwise, murderers and thieves will show up in the night"

"Good bye Mister Tong!" Chelsea called out as both she and Donney ventured out. "Thank you for the meal!"

Mister Tong waved in reply, "Stay safe you two. And see you tomorrow Chelsea." And with that, Chelsea and Donney made their way back home.

"Can't believe you work for such a nice guy!" Donney expressed his jealousy towards Chelsea as they walked down the main street of town.

Chelsea glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, "What, you jealous I've got a job?" she sneered at him.

"Oohhh yea suurrre" he replied sarcastically, crossing his arms. "Not my fault no one is hiring in tough times like these"

"Or maybe it's because no one wants to hire you" A purposeful tease was thrown straight at Donney.

Without saying anything, he simple smiled sarcastically again and rolled his eyes away.

"That's not to say though..." Chelsea began, "Mister Tong is a very kind man. He's taught me so much so far. He even said I had a lot of potential." A glistening sparkle shone in her eyes as she said that.

Donney simply cupped his hands behind his head, "Well you are pretty pinpoint Chelse, I have to admit that much"

"It's really weird though..." She continued as Donney gave her his undivided attention, "He teaches me all these things about the pressure points and sensitive areas, but a lot of them don't have to do with acupuncture from what I've read."

"So? Maybe he feels like it's just good to know, you know?"

"I suppose, but it's still rather odd... " Popping a lollipop into her mouth, Chelsea scratched her head, "But if Mister Tong feels like it's necessary to understand, then I guess I can't question him."

"Well I wouldn't say that~" Donney replied, expressing his differing view. "Sometimes, you just have to question what they're saying."

Thoughts were churning in Chelsea's head as she thought about it for a moment.

Donney slapped her lightly on the back, "Hey now, take it with a grain of salt and move on."

"I guess..." She shrugged in reply, still not shaking his words from her mind. "_Question what they tell me..."_

**ooo**

"_**Hey"** It was the voice of a young girl. She seemed so young, yet, the expression in her eyes was that of blood lust and insanity. "**That charm just now, it's not working. It's very painful, and I'm suffering quite a lot..."**_

_Her mere sight surprised Chelsea, as she spoke even without thinking it, "I'm sure I gouged into a vital spot!" The same spot that Mister Tong had shown her years back._

_The girl muttered a few more words that Chelsea could not comprehend due to her immense fear. Next thing she knew, the girl was charging straight for her with a sword in hand. Then suddenly, she saw herself running, followed by a "BANG!"_

_It was almost as if she felt it, and when she looked at what red had been spilled, her fingers were gone, and the strange makeup kit she held was sent flying to the ground. In her mind, Chelsea was panic stricken, not knowing what was going on. "Why, wh-what's happenening? Why am I here?" _

_As she continued to run, the figure of a young man had jumped out from behind her. His gaze was sharp, and his spear even sharper. Before she had time to react, she saw more red. And then, her arm was sent flying off followed by another "BANG!" _

_The sky was the only thing she saw now, lying on the ground. The man was on top of her, screaming out of fierce rage as he raised his spear, cleaving downward. _

"_Just what... is going on?" Chelsea asked herself as she saw the blade cut downward on her neck. _

"Gah!" A young Chelsea screamed as she suddenly woke up. She was panting and sweating, her eyes were blinking with lights as she tried to compose herself. Gripping the sides of her head, she looked down at her shaking legs. It was as if she were still running through that forest, trying to run away as desperately as she can. Taking two large sighs, she hugged her knees and began to cry. "_That dream..."_ She couldn't even describe it. It all seemed too real to be imaginary. Then, the image of her head on a pole flashed in her mind, causing her to sob even harder. "_What is going to happen to me?"_

It was too much for her to handle, and she continued to sob until eventually, she went to sleep.

**A/N: Hey hey guys! Here's the start of Chelsea's past life! I'll try my best to stay canon with what the manga and prequel manga has to offer. But since Chelsea is dead in the parent story, and the prequel doesn't update as frequently, I'll be forced to deviate from canon a bit. Hope that doesn't stop my creative drive though! Welp, that's all for this chapter, please rate and review, it would be greatly appreciated!**


	3. Let Him Die

**Chapter 2 – Let Him Die**

_**Suzan:** Why do you always eat carrots Donney?_

_**Donney: **Why not? They're crunchy, tasty and healthy! All you need in a food!_

_**Suzan: **What are you trying to do, get super vision?_

_**Donney: **Hahaha! Well, the doctor said that I had 40/20 vision you know!_

**ooo**

"Suzan! Suuuuuuzzaaaaannn!" Donney loudly obnoxious voice called out from outside. "Let's hurry or else we'll be late!"

"I'm coming I'm coming!" The voice of Suzan, a classmate of Chelsea's and Donney's replied as she hurriedly shut the door behind her. "You're voice'll wake up the entire block Donney!" She hushed.

Donney couldn't help but make a toothy grin in reply as he rubbed the back of his head. Chelsea took the liberty of nudging him in the shin to make him shut up, but Suzan simply chuckled under her breath.

"You two always seem so lively" She remarked as Chelsea flicked her hair back.

"It's always lively with this guy around" Chelsea remarked as she took her lolipop out of her mouth for a second, making a somewhat teasing insult towards him.

Donney couldn't help but feel like the victim here as he wined in reply, "Hey now! Shots are being fired and I can't shoot back!" Both of the girls couldn't help but laugh at him as they walked to school.

Suzan lived in the same part of town as Chelsea and Donney, and since she would see them walk home from school everyday, it was safe to say that she was inducted into this former group of two friends.

"Hey! Maybe we should stop by the bakery a morning snack!" Donney suggested as he felt his mouth water at the thought of pastries from the local baker.

"Aren't taxes going up again?" Chelsea asked in reply, wondering whether or not any one of them could even afford a little bit of luxury in a time like this.

Donney shrugged, "Not like I'm too worried about it. My parents make a pretty good sum, and I don't ask for a whole lot of money anyway"

"It's because you always steal from Miss Wimberly" Suzan added, noting the numerous times that both Donney and Chelsea have stolen carrots and lollipops respectively from the grocer.

"_Hey you get back here you little brats!" The loud voice of a young shopkeeper yelled out as she tried to stop the two trouble makers. She knew it was pointless since she couldn't leave the shop. "Damnit..." Wimberly sighed as she returned to the counter. Suzan was chuckling lightly as she approached the counter with some fruit and money in hand. _

"_I can pay for those two" She said as she laid her things for Wimberly to approve._

_Wimberly smiled lightly at Suzan's kind and caring nature, but couldn't help but wince a little at how generous she was despite knowing the cold truth about Suzan. "No it's alright Suzan. Just some lollipops and carrots, not too big of a loss." She somewhat reluctantly said, as she broke a banana off the bunch and laid it on the counter. "Here, on the house ok?"_

_Suzan smiled in return and gave her thanks as she jogged to catch up to Chelsea and Donney. Wimberly crossed her arms with a bittersweet grin on her face, "If only those two knew..." It bit at her heart, and she grabbed a broom and swept to keep it off her mind. "The things people do in this world to stay afloat..."_

"**Hey, that charm just now, it's not working. It's very painful, and I'm suffering quite a lot..."** That girls voice just wouldn't get out of Chelsea's head. "_Just who is she...?"_ Chelsea pondered to herself, deep in thought as she couldn't help but yawn. After a few more moments of spacing out further, she felt Suzan poking her cheek with her fork.

"What's wrong Chelsea?" She asked, concerned about Chelsea's recent yawning plague.

Chelsea looked at her with blank eyes for a moment as she felt her tongue water from the sweet lollipop in her mouth. "Uh... What did you say Suzan?"

Suzan used the palm of her hand to feel Chelsea's forehead, "Are you getting sick? Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Yea you have been looking pretty drowsy lately Chelse" Donney added with his mouth full of carrot. "Are you having nightmares?"

Chelsea quickly shook her head in reply to avoid the embarrassment of still being scared of dreams. But she soon realized that there wasn't much to hide from friends who were legitimately concerned for her well being. "M-maybe..." The adolescent timidly said.

Donny stood up from the grass where they were eating lunch and glared over the campus at the bottom of the hill. "You know what I do when I have a bad dream?"

Both Chelsea and Suzan looked at him waiting for him to continue.

He didn't say anything for a few moments, but he looked back at them and said, "I think about carrots!" A sort of comical reaction was taken from Chelsea and Suzan as they rolled their eyes at his response. "Don't take it the wrong way! Think about something you like, and the less likely you will have a bad dream." Donney said this with sentiment as he took out a lollipop from his pocket and threw it towards Chelsea. "You dropped it this morning" He toothily smiled.

Chelsea smiled in reply, unwrapping and popping the lollipop in her mouth. "Thanks Donney"

**ooo**

As school ended, Chelsea and Suzan were walking home together. Mister Tong was closed today, so Chelsea had the day off. Donney had to stay after to finish some school work, so that just left the two of them.

"So who's work with that Mister Tong fellow?" Suzan asked Chelsea as she nibbled on an apple on their way back from school.

Chelsea took the liberty of sucking on a lollipop before she replied, "It's fun actually. Mister Tong is so patient, and he's good at teaching. I've learned a whole bunch from him, maybe I could open my own clinic someday and follow his footsteps."

Suzan chuckled along with Chelsea, "That's good that you have goals already. Most kids our age haven't even thought about this yet." She said.

"You're one to speak Suzan" Chelsea sneered as she poked Suzan's cheek, "You're so much more mature than me or Donney. And what, we're like 15 right?"

"That's not supposed to mean anythin'!" Suzan replied trying to combat Chelsea's teasing, "You're already thinking about your future instead of playing around with friends! That's pretty damn mature if you ask me!"

"Doesn't mean I can't still be a kid you know" Chelsea said in response ruffling her skirt a bit.

"At least you're learning useful things" She began to say without thinking, "I don't learn anything useful like that"

"You have a job?" Chelsea asked with a raised eyebrow in slight surprise, "Why haven't I heard this?"

Suzan soon realized what she had just said and shook her head in reply, "N-no I don't have one. I was just saying that we aren't learning anything useful in school"

Chelsea was a bit skeptical to say the least as she held a questionable thought, "Are you sure? Because I sure find the stuff in school useful"

Suzan crossed her arms and tried to break off the conversation, "Well I don't really find it useful."

"Is it because you failed the last test?" Chelsea brought up with a sly grin, seemingly quickly forgetting about what Suzan said earlier.

"H-how did you know that?" She replied with distraught surprise.

"I saw the teacher grading your test earlier" A toothy and mischievous smile was on Chelsea's face.

"Woooow Chelsea! Great! Now my entire days been ruined because of this!" Suzan pouted loudly as she vented her frustrations toward Chelsea. At the same time, Chelsea was giggling wildly like any kid would when they have successfully annoyed their friend.

Suzan eventually cooled down from realizing that she failed a test, and continued walking with Chelsea.

"I wonder what's for dinner tonight..." Chelsea began to say aimlessly as she raised her head up to the orange sky.

"I dunno, maybe you have to..." Suzan said before she didn't say anything else.

"I have to what?" Chelsea asked as she peered to the side at Suzan. To her dismay, Suzan stood still, not saying a word after that. "Hey Suzan? Hello?"

Suzan snapped out of it after a while, but she suddenly gasped, "I-I'm sorry Chelsea, I forgot I had something to do right now" She began to dart off the opposite direction they were walking. "Go home without me!"

"A-alright!...?" It was a bit suspicious to Chelsea, seeing Suzan suddenly seem so frantic. She tried not to become too nosey as she continued to walk home. "_Maybe it's something important..._

Chelsea laid there in her bed as she began to wonder about what Suzan meant when it came to being mature. Sure she was thinking about her future already, "But who doesn't?" She asked herself over and over. Mister Tong had told her that she had the potential to own her own business one day, and that excited her. Chelsea was someone who wasn't known for anything. There wasn't any special traits that she possessed, no superior athletic ability, she wasn't naturally smart. She actually studied very hard for tests. So when Mister Tong complimented her skill with her hands, there was a wave of self worth that crept through her.

Then, the words that Suzan spoke to her earlier began to surface in her mind. "_I didn't learn anything useful..." _Chelsea stopped talking about it for a reason. "She's lying..." She said as she turned to her side, hugging her pillow, "Just what does she do?"

**ooo**

Over the course of the next week or two, Chelsea had noticed that Suzan hadn't been showing up to school. Whenever she did, she would seem distant and nihilistic. Often times she would avoid Chelsea and Donney completely. Chelsea tried to confront her about it, but she kept shutting her away.

"What do you reckon is going on with her?" Donney asked as he sat cross legged at their usual lunch spot.

Chelsea racked her head a bit as she took off her butterfly headband, "That's what I want to know too..."

"Maybe family issues?" Donney replied, throwing out suggestions. "Or maybe she has a crush on a boy? Maybe me!" He added, chuckling slightly.

"Donny this isn't funny!" Chelsea lashed out at him, "This isn't like Suzan. There's something going on, and it's probably bad"

Donney raised his hands in defense as he quietly apologized, "If there's something going on though...Is there anything that's she's doing out of the blue?"

"Wait...!" Chelsea began to recall as she quickly slid back on her headband, "I remember walking home with her a few weeks ago. On the way back, she suddenly had to leave for somewhere."

"Did you find out where she went?"

Chelsea shook her head in response, "I didn't pay it too much mind then. But now I'm more concerned"

There was silence as both of them had their gears rolling in their minds, devising a plan to find out what was going on with Suzan. "Then how about we spy on her?" Donney suggested.

"Easier said then done" Chelsea responded, rather doubtful of how it will turn out. "But I guess it's better than nothing"

Both Chelsea and Donney were silent again, not knowing what else to say. Both of them were concerned for Suzan, but both also knew that spying on her wasn't the most honest ways of helping her out.

"Alright, Mister Tong lent us these cloaks to mask our presence" Chelsea whispered as she handed Donney a cloak. "We usually walk down the main street towards my place. We sit here on the bench and wait for her to pass."

"After that we'll follow, right?" Donney confirmed as he pulled the hood over himself.

Chelsea nodded in reply, "If you're eyesight is as good as you claim Donney, I want you to check if she looks back"

"Got it."

"Alright, now we wait"

It may have been well over an hour that Donney and Chelsea had waited before Donney had remembered, "Hey Chelsea..."

"What is it Donney?"

"Suzan has a study session today because she failed her test" Donney finished as he gave Chelsea a tiresome look. "I'm pretty sure it ends around now, but I just wanted to let you know."

Chelsea sighed to herself as she unwrapped another lollipop and began to suck on it, "Always good to know, no matter how late it is" she replied slightly sarcastically.

"Sorry~" He shrugged taking her sarcasm rather lightly.

They waited a little further until Donney noticed the beige colored hair of Suzan. Her sideburns dangled down to her shoulders as her hair was neatly tied up in the back whilst her straight bangs emulated a princess cut. Both Chelsea and Donney observed for a moment before standing up to stalk Suzan.

Thankfully, it was a busy day, so the main street was bustling with merchants, travelers and migrants from the east. They kept, about a 10 meter gap between Suzan and themselves, and were moving at a strangely slow pace.

"Does she know we're following her?" Chelsea muttered to Donney.

Donney simply shook his head, "She hasn't looked back once. Kinda... Suzan kinda looks like she's slowing down on purpose."

Both of them found this to be even more suspicious, "Is she stalling?"

The pursuit of Suzan continued as they went forth on a casual pace. It seemed that the girl of interest wasn't in a hurry, but then she suddenly took a turn into the alley.

"I'll follow this way, you go around" Donney said to Chelsea since Chelsea was much quicker on foot than Donney was.

Donney continued through the alley way as he kept Suzan in sight. She was still walking, but then stopped and looked left and right. Donney was scared that she might look back, but instead, she took a right turn. Quickly catching up, he peeked over the corner as Suzan walked back onto the streets. Donney eventually followed in pursuit as Chelsea joined him from the bench at the side where the alley ended. This street was much less dense with people, but it seemed that Suzan had already arrived at her destination.

"This is..." Donney began to say before Chelsea finished his sentence for him.

"This is the rich neighborhood..."

Looking around to her sides, Suzan knocked on the door of an extravagant house. It seemed to be the home of a very rich person by the looks of it, since a butler greeted Suzan at the door. As she entered, Chelsea and Donney waited patiently and kept watch at their current sitting at the bench.

"What is she doing in this part of town?" Donney had asked, trying to piece together what information they could scavenge.

Chelsea's guess was as good as Donney's as she shrugged. After about 20 minutes or so, Chelsea began to wonder. "Wait... I remember something..." She was trying to recall a detail she noticed about Suzan's uniform a few days before. "I saw.. a stain!" She remembered seeing a whitish crusty stain on Suzan's skirt.

"A stain?" Donney asked, he was pretty sure which directions Chelsea was heading towards, but still tried to deny it, "Are you sure it was what I think it was?"

"I'm pretty sure..." Chelsea coldly said, remembering all the times she observed the prostitutes on the streets. That white stain was always present, and she had seen it on them too many times to mistake it now. "Dear god... Suzan!" She yelped as she sprang up and began running towards the house.

"Chelsea!" Donney called out, running after her in pursuit. She cut through the hedges on the side of the house and into the back courtyard. From there, she heard a low moaning followed by grunting coming from he window.

"_Don't tell me..."_ Chelsea tiptoed to peek over the somewhat tall window, only to see what she had feared the worst. "_Please don't tell me!"_

It was Suzan, bare naked with an older man. Donney peeked also, only to widen his eyes out of slight horror. "Is that Suzan...? With... Councilman Tannor?"

Chelsea didn't have to look any longer to know what was going on, her face was red from frustration as she turned away. Donney wrapped his arm around her to help her move, "C'mon, we have to get out of here or else we're in big trouble."

Wimberly was busy sweeping off the floor when she heard the front door bell ring, "Sorry I'm just about closed for the day..." She said before she noticed it was Donney and Chelsea. "Hey! You two brats! You still... owe me money..." Her scolding slowly turned into a concerned overtone as she noticed Donney and Chelsea's sullen faces. "Hey... you two, what happened?"

"It's Suzan..." Donney spoke for Chelsea since she was still to shaken to speak.

Wimberly clenched her mouth from realizing that the two kids found out the truth, "Come on, let's get you two calmed down okay?"

The scent of hot chocolate permeated throughout Wimberly's kitchen as she poured a mug for both Donney and Chelsea. "What did you guys see?" She questioned.

"Suzan... and that Councilman Tannor guy... at it." Chelsea murmured struggling to hold the mug up to her mouth.

"We followed her down to the rich neighborhood, that's where we saw her, doing that..." Donney implied, feeling very uncomfortable with the subject.

Wimberly sighed, "You guys don't need to talk about it anymore. I already knew what was going on."

"Then why!?" Chelsea exclaimed as she heard this, "Why keep it a secret? Why not rat the bastard out for it?"

"Councilman Tannor is a powerful man Chelsea. Someone like me won't have a say in anything if I opened my mouth" Wimberly regretfully said. It was obvious that Chelsea was hurt by these words as she bit down her pent up frustration and calmed down. Donny felt this as well as he turned his head, understanding that there wasn't much any of them could do with what little power they had.

"Look, in this day and age." Wimberly began to lecture calmly as she pointed a finger out of caution, "People'll do anything to stay alive. Even if it means making an animal of yourself."

Those words struck too close to home as Chelsea and Donney got the message.

"So next time you see Suzan, don't treat her any less than the person she was before you found out about all of this. Got it? She's the same girl after all" Wimberly asked as the two kids nodded silently.

"But why... Why is Suzan doing this?" Chelsea asked, remembering the conversation she and Suzan had about learning useful things from their jobs. It occurred to Chelsea that Suzan was learning nothing useful at all, at least positively.

'That Tannor..." Wimberly began, "He likes them young, and he abuses many of the girls he gets. He uses them as slaves and trades them."

Both Donney and Chelsea were shocked at what Wimberly was saying. Speaking ill of a government official could be punishable by death.

"Don't give me that look" Wimberly waved her hand chuckling rather ominously, "Many people know this, but no one speaks up.

"But why not? Why don't we question them?" Donney asked.

"Because we'll die if we do. They'll kill us all. Just keep that in mind" She warned, "This world is corrupt, you best be on your toes."

**ooo**

"Is the well being of your friend still bothering you Chelsea?" Mister Tong asked as he was inspecting his needles.

Chelsea was silent for a moment before replying with a mumble, "Yes Mister Tong." It had been a week since Chelsea and Donney had learned that Suzan was prostituting herself out to earn money, not that it changed their friendship in the slightest. It was just that Chelsea was desperately trying to find a way to help Suzan, but she couldn't think of anything.

"It is very unfortunate indeed" Mister Tong said, closing his box of needles, "But remember that this was her choice."

"Isn't there any other way Mentor?" She asked in return.

"Only time will tell Chelsea. Be patient, and a way will appear" He advised as the elderly man tended to the front counter.

The bell rang as a customer came in, "Hello! How can I help you?" Chelsea peeked from the back room,only to widen her eyes when she saw the familiar face of Councilman Tannor being greeted by Mister tong.

"Gads this place reeks of oriental incense" He commented rudely, "Oh great, a westerner. I hear you're the only one who performs acupuncture around here."

"Why yes indeed!" Mister Tong remained unscathed by Tannor's insults. "Would you like a session?"

Tannor rubbed his goatee for a moment, "Err yeaaa. I guess, my lower backs been killing me and my chiropractor was executed last week for some reason. I figure acupuncture is as good as it gets."

Mister Tong nodded, "Right away then, please come this way."

He led Tannor to the room where they would perform the acupuncture, "Please undress and wrap this around yourself. Once you are done, lie face down and try to relax yourself."

The Councilman muttered a few words before he got right to it. "Oh and do you have like an assistant or something? Can they do the acupuncture instead?" It was a remark of intense racism towards denizens of the Western Kingdom. "_I don't want this filthy westerners hands on my back"_

"Of course sir, my pupil is more than capable of doing this." Mister Tong said in reply from outside as he waved his arm for Chelsea to come over. He bent over and whispered into her ear, "I don't like this guy already" he bluntly said as he smiled, "Remember what I taught you. Go slowly, and apply light pressure only."

Chelsea nodded in reply, confident in her abilities. She not only practiced on dummies, but also studied from books and observed Mister Tong as well.

"You're a natural at this, try not to be so tense alright?" Mister Tong said as he began going up the stairs. "If you don't mind me, I'll be checking up on my cake." It should be noted that Mister Tong had a hobby for baking.

"O-Okay Mister Tong" Chelsea said as she smiled lightly at him before entering the room.

"Took you long enough!" Tannor snapped as he laid there on the table. His voice was rather muffled from the head rest, but still clearly audible.

"I'm sorry sir, I'll get started right away" She apologized while she began to run her fingers along his back to massage and loosen his muscles. She felt goosebumps from how cold the mans skin was. "_Just as cold as his heart!_" she remarked in her mind taking note of how lovely a day it was today. "Where was does it hurt again?"

"My lower back! Jeez! How many times do I gotta say it?" The councilman snapped as expected.

Chelsea paused for a moment, "Alright. I'll start by inserting a few needles along the sides of your spine to help increase blood flow to the muscles around it. Then I'll insert a few along your lower obliques and that should take care of the pain."

"Obliques? What are obliques?"

She was quite surprised at his lack of basic anatomy, "The sides of your stomach" she answered before opening the box of needles. "I'm going to begin. Try to stay calm and relaxed, if it hurts in any way, please tell me."

"I'll tell you in a scream, how does that sound?" He replied sarcastically.

Chelsea couldn't help but roll her eyes as she began the procedure. Needle by needle, she worked her way from bottom to top, starting with the tailbone. It was actually quite trivial for her. She knew that it would get a bit more tricky as she made her way to the neck, but at the pace she was going, it should be smooth sailing.

"Oooh yea..." Tannor murmured as he finally began to feel the pain radiating from his lower back start to go away, "That feels great. Say, what's your name kid?"

"Chelsea"

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen"

"Teenager huh, say, how about you ditch that old geezer and come work for me?" The crafty slave trader asked.

Chelsea knew what he was trying to get at, and held her building anger down. "No thank you. Mister Tong treats me nicely here."

"Oh c'mon, that filthy westerner? You'll get so many more opportunities working with me!"

Shaking her head, Chelsea declined, "It's alright sir. I'm fine."

"Alright, suit yourself" He gave up, but continued talking, "Not like I really need your anyway. I've already got another girl."

"Another girl...?" Chelsea rhetorically asked, nearly letting the talk about Suzan get the better of her.

"Yea, just some random girl who needed some work. Her parents couldn't pay me taxes, so I've taken her under my wing for now. But I'll probably gonna transfer her to a friend of mine." Tannor was clearly referring to Suzan, and if masking up his real meaning wasn't enough, Chelsea suspected that transfer meant to sell her to someone.

What a pickle Chelsea was in as she momentarily thought, hesitating a bit. He was going to sell Suzan off as a slave to abuse. "_What do I do?!"_ She was actually shaking, not being able to insert the next needle. There was a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head. She had made her way up to the nape of the neck. Just a few more needles and she would move onto the next step. But she couldn't do it, her hand was shaking too much.

"_Push it in too deep, and you could puncture an artery." _Mister Tongs voice rang in her head.

"Push it in too deep..." Chelsea began to hypnotically murmur as her hands began to move on their own. Her mind was somewhere else, left only with the desire to protect Suzan lingering.

"What did you say..?" Tannor asked.

"And I could puncture an artery..." Then suddenly, Chelsea had snapped back and felt her hand forcefully pierce the needle at an angle into the left side of the mans neck.

"GAAAAHHH!" Tannor screamed out as he instinctively reacted by bashing around him to hit Chelsea square in the head. He fell face front to the ground and tried to get up whilst flailing his arms around to try to get the needle out of his neck.

The girl backed up quickly to try to avoid him as much as possible, staring at him, and then her own hands in horror.

"Yo... You... you bitch!" He gargled out as blood began to seep from his mouth and squirt out of the incision in his neck. He rushed forward at Chelsea, who was stuck against the wall and grabbed her by the shirt collar. "You...re fri..ends with...that...whore...arren't...ou..." his jumbled voice said as he tried to strangle Chelsea.

Reacting in a panic she felt her hand around for anything. Grabbing the handle of the first thing she felt, she clubbed him in the head with a mug, which abruptly shattered due to the impact and sharply scratched his face. Retracting his hands in response, Tannor backed up slightly before he hit the still, tripping backwards, landing on his back.

There was the sharp sound of flesh being pierced as all the needles Chelsea had inserted earlier were pushed even further in because of his fall.

There was only the low moaning of Tannor as he slowly and painful began to die.

"What is going on?!" Mister Tong hastily said as he ran into the room. As he saw Tannor lying on the floor, he looked at Chelsea who was going into shock.

"M-mister T-Tong!" Chelsea cried out as her mentor cupped her head into his chest.

"Shhhh Chelsea, don't say anything. Just look away." Mister Tong tried to comfort her.

"W-we need to- to get help!"

Mister Tong simply shook his head as he continued to cover Chelsea, "No, it's already too late for him. Just let him die"

**ooo**

Chelsea's eyes were still spinning and her mind was still blank. "_I killed a man! I killed a man..."_ Was the only thing she kept on thinking as she sat at the table where Mister Tong ate dinner.

Mister Tong quietly entered as he washed his hands of the blood that was pooling on the floor. After that, he poured tea for two and held a mug and urged Chelsea to drink. "What you need to do right now is calm down."

"H-how can I calm down?! I-I just... i-it was an accident... I-I swear Mister Tong!" Chelsea began to cry out, trying to fight back the tears that were forming.

"Shhh calm down now Chelsea." Mister Tong assured, "I won't tell anyone, I swear."

Chelsea was as dumbstruck by Mister Tongs words as much as she was in shock. "W-what?"

"You did the town a lot of good by killing that man Chelsea." He added as he sat down and took a sip of his tea.

'But killing is!"

"Killing is wrong, I know" Mister Tong interrupted, "But think about all the lives you've protected from that man."

This held Chelsea at tongue as she thought about it for a moment. Not only did she protect Suzan, but she protected future girls like Suzan from suffering the same fate.

"I... protected..." Chelsea murmured as she stared at her hands again.

Mister Tong reached forward and held her hand gently, "You're stressed. Go home and get some sleep. You can have tomorrow off too." He smiled at her, "And don't worry about the body. I'll take care of it."

Chelsea nodded weakly, as she began to calm down a bit and take a sip of tea.

"But, Chelsea." Mister Tong cautioned, "Do not tell anyone about this okay? And I mean no one."

She remembered what Donney said about questioning other people, but she couldn't question Mister Tong, not at this moment.

"Okay."

**ooo**

"Hey! Chelsea...!" Suzan's voice rang out, "Chelsea!" Suzan was poking Chelsea's cheek with her fork again. "What's wrong? You've been spacing out more than usual"

"Oh, it's nothing!" Chelsea replied as she smiled lightly. She was glad that Suzan had returned completely to normal. It was as if that whole incident never happened.

"Don't go off daydreaming all day now Chelse" Donney began to say as he sat cross legged, leaning against the tree, "Or else you won't have anymore dreams for night!"

Chelsea curved an eyebrow as she replied, "I'm not daydreaming Donney"

"Oh yea? What are you doing spacing off then?" He skeptically responded as he flicked Chelsea's noggin.

"Just thinking..."

"About what?" Suzan butted in.

Chelsea smiled as she stared at the both of them, with their smiling and content faces. She didn't want anything to tarnish this scene from her life. She wanted to protect it, everything that was dear to her.

"About..."

**A/N: Long chapter today! As you guys might have noticed, I haven't been writing about the prequel manga nor the regular manga as of yet. Don't worry though, I plan on reaching Chelsea's part of Akame ga Kill Zero in about five or six chapters or so. **

**The reason I'm doing this is because the characters that I'm introducing now will have a major impact on Chelsea's story later on. So bear with me!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Please rate and review!**


	4. His Humble Disposition

**Chapter 3 – His Humble Disposition**

**Miles: **You're a lot stronger than you look, you know Suzan.

**Suzan: **That's because I always drank milk as a child!

**Miles:** The way you fight tells me a different story.

**Suzan: **Oh, well that's because my father owns a martial arts dojo.

**Miles: **_Seems I picked the wrong girl to mess with huh?_

"Mister Tong! To what do I owe you this special visit?" Wimberly asked as she spotted the elderly man approaching her as he walked down the street leisurely.

"No need to be so formal Wimberly" Mister Tong assured as he waved his hand, "Isn't it normal for friends to visit each other?"

Wimberly stopped sweeping before smiling at him, "I suppose you can say that. Would you like anything? Some coffee maybe?"

The elder nodded his head, "Why yes! There isn't any coffee out west, so this is a nice break from tea."

"Is tea a favorite?"

"No, I hate it" Mister Tong replied laughingly, "Drink it twenty four seven and you're bound to get sick of it." He added holding up a pink box, "Besides, coffee goes great with my cakes"

**ooo**

Steaming coffee and sweet whipped cream filled Wimberly's kitchen as Mister Tong began cutting his cake. "Ooooh I've outdone myself this time!" He said, delighted in his own creation.

Wimberly smiled rather amusingly as she delivered two mugs of coffee to the table. "How's the clinic going?"

"My Wimberly, I'm just down the street. You should know how business is" Mister Tong rhetorically asked as he slid a slice of cake gently onto her plate.

"Is he dead?" Wimberly ignored his recent comment, and went straight to the true purpose of his visit. She was obviously referring to Councilman Tannor, and Tong knew that.

"Councilman Tannor is dead" Mister Tong began as he took a few bites of his cake, "But not by my hand."

The grocer was quite puzzled by what he meant, "Not by your hand? What are you saying Tong?"

Tong was silent, only chewing on his fluffy cake, "Chelsea"

Wimberly's eyes shot open as she stood up from her chair, "No... You didn't tell that innocent firl to do it did you?!"

"No no no" Mister Tong defended himself, "I knew that rat bastard would opt for Chelsea to perform his acupuncture instead of me, so I laced Chelsea's needles with poison. And when he died, I would have told her it was an accident."

Wimberly tilted her head, still disapproving of Mister Tong using Chelsea in a manner like that, but he continued.

"Little did I know that she used the needles from my box instead!" He sounded quite surprised when he said this, "It was her first time performing acupuncture on a real person before, so I suppose she used my needles out of good luck."

"Then? What happened after?"

"She killed him herself"

Her eyes widened some more as her head tilted back. "Herself?" Wimberly asked trying to put the pieces together. If Chelsea had killed Tannor herself, then it must have been to protect... "Suzan!"

"That's what my assumption was" Tong said nodding, "She must have felt the urgency to protect her friend from him."

"Is she hurt?"

Tong asked, "Chelsea?" as he shook his head, "No. She seems to be fine mentally too. As if it never happened."

There was an arid silence as Wimberly had trouble accepting how much of a natural killer Chelsea seemed to be, "Is that why you took her in?"

The old man nodded bluntly, "She's smart, and skilled. The incision she made was about as deadly as it could ever get." Mister Tong began to say as he rubbed the hairs of his beard.

"What about her sparked your interest in the first place Tong?" Wimberly took the moment to ask.

"Well... let me see..." He started, "She kind of reminds me of myself when I was younger. Haha..."

"And you want her to follow in your footsteps?"

The sound of a fork clanked against the plate as Mister Tong finished his cake, "When the time comes. Yes. But I fear that she might be a tad bit over confident" he said lastly before standing up. "Thank you for the coffee Wimberly, it was delightful."

"Wait!" Wimberly called out as Mister Tong stopped and looked back to see what she wanted, "You forgot your cake"

Tong simply chuckled as he waved, "Give it to the kids, they'll like it for sure!"

**ooo**

"Go on! Get out!" It was Suzan's forceful voice as she was kicking around delinquents who were bullying some of the neighborhoods children. Both of them went running with their "tails between their legs" as Suzan hollered at them, "Remember what neighborhood you're in!"

Both Chelsea and Donney were perplexed at Suzan's immense physical strength and hand fighting prowess. Of course, both of them knew where she got it from. Her father owned a dojo where she frequented and was taught a somewhat moderate degree of martial arts. But probably what contributed to her robust strength was her love for dairy. Chelsea and Donney noticed that she would constantly be drinking milk if the opportunity gave itself. Much akin to how Chelsea is always sucking on lollipops and Donney munching on carrots.

Suzan recomposed herself as she helped the kids that were being bullied up, "There now, those thugs won't be bothering you anytime soon" She assured. They gave a swift and grateful thanks as they continued on their day. Returning to Chelsea and Donney, who were still ever surprised at how much brute strength she had, Suzan pointed down the road, "Let's go to school?"

"You know Suzan, with muscles like yours, you ever think about kicking Donney around to teach him a lesson sometime?" Chelsea jokingly said as she pointed her thumb towards him.

Donney instantly and nervously replied, "Woah w-what? You're not serious right Chelsea? Not like I cause any trouble anywhere" He asked holding up and shaking his hands to demonstrate.

Suzan giggled, "Or how about I kick both of you around to teach you a lesson about stealing from Wimberly?" It was as if a shadow was cast upon her eyes and a slight gleam was seen, indicating Suzan's inner beats, "I had to pay for the stuff you stole last time" she lied without them knowing it.

Chelsea and Donney felt beads of sweat comically dropping from their heads, "N-No no, it's fine Suzan" Chelsea stuttered a bit while still trying to maintain a smile.

"Just kidding" Suzan stuck her tongue out and giggled as both Chelsea and Donney sighed in their minds.

"Speaking of which, is Wimberly still mad about those lollipops and carrots?" Chelsea inquired with a smiling grin as the stick of her lollipop slightly bent from her chewing on it.

Donney wanted to know too since despite Wimberly's strict disposition, she cared for the kids very deeply deep down.

Suzan shook her head, trying to contain herself from laughing.

"I knew it!"

**ooo**

The halls of the school weren't quite crowded, but there were still quite a number of students who were hanging around before class and such. The trio were making their way to their home classroom chatting and messing around until Donney had accidentally bumped into another student.

The student seemed to not care who he bumped into and kept on walking.

"S-sorry about that!" Donney apologized as he hastily got back up.

"Watch where you walk next time" The student said in a very monotone voice as he held an arm up to wave without looking back.

Donney was a little puzzled at the student who didn't even show any signs of being affected by getting bumped into. "Is he a new student?"

Suzan answered his question, "No, he's in one of my classes."

"Is he now?" Chelsea asked.

"Uh huh" Suzan nodded, "His names Miles I think. He seems very intelligent since he always gets good scores on his tests. But he's really aloof"

"What do you mean?" Both Chelsea and Donney asked.

"Hmmm, well he doesn't talk in class a whole lot. And when the teacher calls on him to answer a problem on the board, he does it silently." She continued, "Come to think of it. He's really..." It seemed that Suzan was having a hard time come up with the next words.

"He's what?"

"Mmmmhhh, really humble. You know? Like whenever someone compliments him, he always says something along the lines of, 'Don't think so highly of me'. Or, 'You're giving me too much credit'." Suzan's eyebrow furrowed as she thought about this.

Chelsea took out her lollipop and pointed it at Suzan, "You know what that means Suzan?" She asked as she wrapped her arm around Suzan's shoulder.

She simply shook her head in reply.

"If you've noticed these things about him, doesn't that seem like you're attracted to him?" Chelsea teased with a toothy grin.

Suzan turned bright red as she quickly wrestled her way out of Chelsea's arm lock, "N-No!"

Donny couldn't help but laugh and leer in, "Your face says otherwise!"

"I-I don't!" She wined, looking for a way to try to change the subject, "B-but come to think about it... he constantly seems... troubled"

Chelsea and Donney strngely paused on their teasing for a moment, "Troubled?" They both asked as they looked back in the direction Miles seemingly headed towards.

"Yea... like somethings always on his mind-" Suzan began to speak before the bells rang for class.

**ooo**

The streets of town were quite empty as Suzan made her way back home from school. Chelsea had work and Donney was in detention, and since Suzan had no reason to stay at school, she decided she would walk home alone today. "_Everyone seems to be busy"_ she thought to herself as the images of Councilman Tannor flashed in her head, haunting her. "No no no!" She shook her head, "_That man isn't harassing father anymore. I don't have to worry about anything!"_

As she was pondering, she was stopped by a boy that stood in her way. "U-um, excuse me..." She said rather surprised as she looked up at who was blocking her. "Um, can I help you?"

"You're the girl from my math class right?" He asked. It was Miles, his eyes staring at Suzan with a somewhat dull look.

"Yea... and you're... Miles right?" Suzan asked in return as she recognized his face. His eyes were very droopy, and were very dull to look at. His hair was actually quite on the longer side. His bangs were bunched together towards the center, and his sidebangs hung down to his chin.

"Suzan wasn't it?" Miles added as he continued to stare at Suzan in the eye.

Suzan was quite bothered by this, and hesitantly asked, "Is there something you needed from me? We don't have a test tomorrow, if that's what you were wondering"

"I know there isn't a test tomorrow"

"Then wh-" She began before he cut her off.

"You're the one who's been beating up members of my gang haven't you?" Miles asked as he leaned in closer to her.

Suzan was a little bit abacked by this sudden question, "And what if I am?"

Miles kept silent for a moment as he stared into Suzan's eyes. She was unshaken by his constant staring, but she began to feel his intimidation spring upon her. "Cut it out then." He said bluntly.

"They're the ones bullying the other kids on the street!" Suzen responded.

Miles blinked for a moment as he turned around and began to walk, "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of them personally. But for now, try not to pick fights around my turf." He said as he held his arm out and waved without looking back, like he did with Donney.

"H-hey! Wait! Is that supposed to be a threat?!" Suzan hollered out, "Get back here!" She was rather annoyed with his guts already. "Who does he think he is?" She asked herself, slightly agitated, staring at the figure of Miles walking away.

**ooo**

A week passed and Suzan still tried to wonder what Miles meant about members of his gang. "_Was he a gang leader?"_ Suzan had heard some classmates gossiping about a gang of delinquents that were too poor to attend the school, and thus grouped together causes problems around town. As much as Suzan did not like the idea of speaking ill of these kids, she couldn't help but remember all the clashes she's had with them.

But for Miles to be the leader of the gang? Suzan had to wonder why indeed. He didn't seem like the delinquent type to her. He was intelligent and attained good grades. He's extremely passive and keeps to himself.  
"_So what purpose would a guy like him..."_ Suzan began to think, "_Have with a gang of thugs?"_

She pondered over this as she was walking home from school with Chelsea and Donney.

"Suzan? Suzan!" Donney exclaimed as he waved his hand in front of her face, "Now who's the one day dreaming?"

"Huh...?"

"What's up Suzan? This isn't like you" Chelsea noted using the back of her hand to feel Suzan's cheek.

"I'm fine!" She replied, trying to shake off Chelsea and Donney's worrying. Both of them shrugged, but before they continued their way back to school, a group of three kids about the same age they were stood in their way.

This part of town was mostly empty since the shops were closed today. So there was nothing but trouble stirring about.

"What do you guys want?" Donney asked, taking note of their rugged appearance.

One of them pointed, it was a boy Suzan recognized from a week back "It's that girl right there! With the light hair!"

The one who seemingly was leading opened her mouth, "So you're the one who's been knocking up our boys aren't you?" They glared upon her. The girl was around their age, brown hair that was cut short around the chin . She wore an orange bow and a bandage was on her cheek. She was dressed in somewhat ragged clothing, and one could tell she was rather hot headed.

All of a sudden, about maybe another dozen kids came out, fists clenched and ready to pounce at any moment.

The trio did not understand what was going on, but tried to stay calm at best. They were surrounded.

"So what if I am?"

The girl smiled rather menacingly, "Then the boss will love to take a whacking outta you" she said before turning around, "You're coming with us! If you try to resist, we'll beat ya to a pulp"

Suzan remembered the conversation she had with Miles days back, "But wait! I already talked to him!"

After a moment of pause, all of them burst out laughing, "The boss would never confront people with words." the girl said. "Now c'mon! Git goin!"

Chelsea, Donney and Suzan looked around them as the circle began to close in around them. Resistance was futile indeed. Neither Chelsea nor Donney have been in a fist fight, and fifteen kids is seemingly beyond Suzan's capability. So they had no option other than to comply.

"Pssst! Suzan! What's this whole deal about?" Donney exclaimed in a whisper.

"Miles approached me last week and told me to stop kicking his gang around"

"Gang?" Chelsea responded.

"Apparently he's the leader of a gang, at least, that's what he implied." Suzen replied.

Their conversation was cut short as they were led through the alley ways and into the poorer part of town. Chelsea, Donney and Suzan themselves lived in the more normal part of town were both well off and not so well of families lived. But this part of town was where the poorest of the townsfolk lived, but not quite like slums. Orphans, beggars and the like. All of them resided here and went out into town to try to scavenge what they can to make it through the day.

All three of them were quite unacquainted with this sight. It reeked, and the odor was very unsettling. Rats, stray animals were occasionally seen roaming the streets.

Not a ways off, they were led to an abandoned warehouse. It was very structurally sound, but the facade was dilapidated and weathered from rain, snow and hail over the years.

The inside looked like a camp for refugees. Pillows, blankets, makeshift stoves were all aligned in a way that resembled a small camp instead of an abandoned warehouse. Fabric was hung from strings to act as tents as younger kids peeked out to see what the commotion was.

"Is this...?" Chelsea whispered to Donney before hastily nodded in reply.

"Boss! Boss!" The girl who had "captured" them and brought them here called out, "We got the perps!"

"Perps? What perps Tanith?" The questioning voice of Miles sounded from behind a cloth in a tent nearby as he bent underneath to reveal himself. As his eyes gazed upon Suzan and the rest, and he simply rolled his eyes and stared at Tanith.

"I got them!" Tanith exclaimed. "This is the girl that's been beating up our kids right?"

"Yea..." Miles responded as he extended the 'a'. Afterward, he flicked Tanith on the noggin and said, "Didn't I tell you not to do that?"

"Ah! Yea! Bu-but I just wanted to, you know, help out." She began to say, "I can't just stand around and let my friends get beat around!"

Miles was slightly annoyed as held a finger up to stop her from talking any further, "Would it kill you to know that Jack and Al were hustling some neighborhood kids?"

"N-No..." Tanith hushed down, rather guiltily, but it was obvious she was fighting back her frustration.

"Alright then" He began as he turned towards the trio. "Sorry about that Suzan. It seems this girl here just can't help herself"

But they were silent, still not really understanding what kind of situation was at hand at the moment. Miles stood there scratching his cheek for a moment, "Maybe I should explain firstly."

**ooo**

"So all these kids here are orphans" Donney reiterated as they sat on a few crates in the corner of the warehouse.

Miles nodded, folding his hands and twiddling his thumbs, "Consider this as an orphanage"

"But what's your reason for doing this Miles?" Chelsea inquired, playing around with some of the dust that was on the wooden crate.

Miles sighed for a moment, "It's sort of a long story..."

_Years ago, there was an orphanage down the street from here. One that I lived in. I was an orphan. There was no memory of my parents no matter how far I try to dig down. The only family I knew were the other abandoned children I met at that orphanage. They were my best friends, the ones I played with, the ones I shared secrets with, the ones I trusted._

_Those days would not last though, since, as an orphan, some of us would be picked up by families. And this time, it was me. It seemed that I was a perfect match for the couple. And despite deep down not wanting to leave, I knew that this opportunity would probably have never come up again if I turned it down right now, not that I had much choice._

_My new parents are kind to me, they still are. They're a very rich family, I had to give them that. They told me that they couldn't conceive a child, and that I was their dream child. It made me feel special inside, but I still tried to tell them not to praise me so highly._

_They enrolled me in school to gain a proper education so that I can set myself up. So I did, and as I walked home one day, I couldn't help but think about how my friends were doing. Were they adopted yet? Could they find a home they found warm and loving like I did? Or were not all of them as lucky as I? _

_These thoughts clawed at my conscience, and it haunted me. Before I knew it, I was roaming the streets where I once played ball and tag with my friends. Not saying the people at school are bad. It's just that their friendship wasn't the same as the ones I made as a kid._

_Next thing I know, I was at the front steps of the orphanage. It was chained up, half falling apart. Dust everywhere. And at that moment, I realized that my home, and their home, was no more._

_Then it occurred to me that they were living on the streets, so I sought them out, my friends, even the orphans I didn't meet. They didn't have a place to live, yet, I had a place to live. How was that fair? I had to do something. So I searched, until I found them, living in boxes and newspapers in between alleyways. Eating from garbage and drinking from sewers. _

_I couldn't stand it._

_So I asked around the neighborhood about this warehouse, and people told me that it hadn't been used in over fifty years. It was still in good condition, and it was remote enough not to bother other people. It was perfect. So I rounded everyone up, and here we are today._

"I wanted this place to be a place for orphans. So we take who ever wants to stay here." Miles added.

"But what about supplies, like food and water and stuff?" Suzan asked, intrigued by Miles's sense of social justice.

"Luckily, there's still water being pumped here. And there's a pretty sizable garden out back" He replied with a pointed thumb as he crossed his legs and arms. "Rather self sufficient I suppose. But I lend a helping hand whenever I feel the need to"

"Wow Miles..." Suzan was somewhat blown away by his acts of kindness towards these children. She never realized someone who seemed so passive and apathetic would be so warm and caring on the inside, "You really are humble aren't you?" she smiled before giggling. Chelsea and Donney began to laugh also.

"Everyone seems to say that about me, but it's not really-" Miles began before someone called out his name.

"Miles! Come quick! It's Al! He's all hurt!"

Miles quickly stood up and rushed to what the commotion was. "What happened?"

The boy was crying his eyes out, and when Chelsea and the rest gazed upon his figure, he was beaten bloody and bruised. "J-Jack..!" He gagged, fighting the tears and pain.

"What about Jack? C'mon! Calm down Al!" Miles seemed fearful and distressed as he grasped Al on the shoulders.

"T-The S-sheriff! Wah... H-He nabbed... t-the both of u-us and..."

Miles felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his head as he swallowed the lump in his throat, fearing for the worst, "And what..."

"...and he... he beat us... and beat u-us... u-until Jack s-stopped... stopped moving...!" Al wailed as he dropped to his knees. The other kids around began to feel his pain as the looked away and began to cry also.

Miles looked away and gave a low hiss, "Get him bandaged up." He said.

Suzan was shocked as Donney looked away in pain also, and Chelsea scrunched her face in disgust.

"Sheriff Graham..." Chelsea began in a low tone as Suzan and Donney listened in.

"That bastard!" Miles slightly lashed out in anger as he steadily back tracked to the corner of the warehouse. He sat down, rubbing his temples. "Jack..."

They each glared at him with uneasy eyes, unable to say anything to help comfort him.

"Sorry, I just..." Miles recomposed himself before sighing again, "It's just that this isn't anything new"

It came as a shocker as they leaned forward waiting for him to elaborate.

It took Miles a while, but he eventually began to speak, "Sheriff Graham... he's been harassing the kids of the streets for as long as I remember. Even back at the orphanage, he would snatch one or two of us and take them in. Sometimes they would return, sometimes never. And always those who returned would be beaten harshly."

"He calls us vermin, and trash" Tanith's voice cut in, coarse and dry as sand, "Who is he to call us that? Aren't we human beings just like him?"

"Some people just like to think they are superior I suppose" Miles stated not wanting a reply, "The man doesn't care about us in these poor parts of town. He simply casts us away like garbage, and uses us as his own personal punching bags."

Tanith suddenly punched the wall, "We have to do something about him!" Her teeth were clenched.

"Like what Tanith?" Miles questioned in reply, "What could we possibly do to fight him?"

Tanith didn't say anything for a moment, not having a response, but Miles didn't wait for it because he knew she didn't have one, "Nothing! That's right! What could a group of kids and teenagers do against a man who has the entire police force of the town on his side? Who would listen to us? We're nothing but homeless children!"

"We're homeless children! You're not! You don't know the pain we've been going through since the orphanage closed..." Tanith simply said as she pointed a finger at him and turned away, running of with tears forming from the frustration of knowing that.

Miles was slightly shocked at the comment she just made and crossed his arms while sighing again. "Tanith is always like that. She always wants to find a way to help, but sometimes she just has to realize that you can't do everything." He it obvious that he was deeply hurt by this as he drooped his head look down at the floor.

"But what keeps her driving through?" Donney asked.

"I've known Tanith since we were toddlers, yet, I still don't know why she's so stubborn like that" Miles said as he glared through the crack in the curtains. "Through the years, we've lost many good friends. I'm tough with her because I don't want to lose her" But before he continued, he stopped himself. The pain was getting to him, and he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I need some time alone. You three should get back home" He said standing up, "I'll see you tomorrow"

**ooo**

Tanith was frustrated as she kept on running and running through the alleys, "Who the hell does Miles think he is? Bossing me around like that!" She stopped to catch her breath, and to try to fight back the tears that were forming around her eyes. "I just... I just want to help..."

There was the sound of water dripping from drain pipes as Tanith looked at herself in the puddle. "I have to do something..." There was intense anger that was behind those tears as she bashed her fist against the brick wall. The pain radiated through her arm as she sat there on her knees.

"That bastards gonna pay for killing Jack, and all the other others!" Tanith's stubbornness got the best of her as she stood up and picked up a worn shovel that was cast away. "He's gonna get what's been coming for him!"

**ooo**

"_I wonder how Miles is doing_" Chelsea wondered to herself as she laid there in her bed at home, staring up at her ceiling. Miles seemed uneasy lately when she saw him at school. He was even more aloof than he was already, and even more quiet and bit hostile.

It had been a couple of days since Miles showed them his makeshift orphanage. Chelsea wondered if he was still upset about the death of his friend, or was it something else. She didn't want to confront him about it, as, it would seem rude.

"Dang!" She murmured as she got up to a sitting position on her bed and glanced at the books on her nightstand. She couldn't sleep anymore because of this as she glanced at the books on her bookshelf. "Biochemistry, the body and it's composition" She recited the title of one of the books Mister Tong lent her, and leaned over to grab it. "I still don't know why he wants me to read it, but it's still interesting nonetheless..."

Miles yawned quietly as he was awoken by the early morning scent of mist and fog. He had spent the last few nights at the warehouse, worried sick for Tanith. Since the day Jack died, she went missing. Rather, he woke up because he was still worried about her. He looked around his little corner as he took the blankets that were loosely wrapped around his shoulders off and stood up arcing his aching back.

His gaze was out at the window atop, with the gray skies shining a very faint and pale light to dawn the early hours of the morning. The quiet sound of light snoring from the various tents of orphans echoed lowly through the warehouse as Miles carefully and quietly made his way through the camp towards the exit.

"_Maybe I should take a walk to clear my mind..."_ He thought to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He shut the door soundlessly as he breathed in the misty air, "_Just the way I like it"_. Yawning loudly as he took a few steps outward, he began to wander around and let his mind go with him.

_Where did those times go Tanith...? I remember when we were kids, we would always go to the river and play there. You told me that you would someday catch a fish there and cook it for everyone to enjoy, yet, that day never came. _

_Ever since I came into a family, not a day passed where I didn't wonder what you and the other orphans were doing. Where you still going down to the river to try to catch fish? Or were you trying your hand at trying to get adopted? I never found out, but that didn't mean I didn't care. Just because I love my new family doesn't mean I forgot you guys. _

_We've always been at each others sides in times of need. All I want is to keep seeing that smiling face of yours, even if I'm not smiling. _

"Hey, Miles" A voice cut in through his monologue as Miles suddenly snapped out of his wandering trance. He looked around and saw someone who was approaching him through the mist and fog. The butterfly headband was what he recognized to be Chelsea.

"Chelsea..." He murmured as he scratched his head, "What are you doing out this early?"

"I could say the same to you!" Chelsea grinned as she moved the lollipop from her mouth from one side to the other, "I have to come into work earlier today. What about you?"

Scratching his head turned into rubbing his neck slightly as he spoke, "Just taking a walk to clear my mind."

"Really now?" Chelsea replied as she accompanied him down the street. A small moment of silence ensued as she opened her mouth to ask, "You seem different lately Miles. What's wrong?"

Miles turned his head slightly to avoid attention, "There's nothing..." he began to say as his eyes fluttered towards a figure that was lying in the alley nearby. "Wrong..."

Hypnotically, he was attracted to the figure, and before he knew it, he was holding the figure in his arms, unable to stop the tears that inevitably formed as he gazed upon their face. "Tanith...?" His mouth was agape in shock and terror, "Tanith...?!"

Her face was bruised and bloody. She was missing a few teeth and her breathing was shallow to non-existent. Her body felt weak and cold.

"Say something!" Miles pleaded as he held her closer to himself, "Please..."

Tanith stirred slightly, "I... I tried to help Miles..." Her voice was weak, and both Chelsea and Miles knew she didn't have much time left.

"But why?! Why would you do something so stupid?!" Miles scorned as he gripped her hand.

Her eyes began to fill with tears, "Miles... you've done so much... to help the rest of us. I- I couldn't just stand there... and watch you take our burdens... by yourself"

Miles couldn't fight back the tears anymore, "This wasn't what I meant Tanith! You know that!"

"You always so... humble Miles...on the outside, you're so calm, but deep down inside, you hurt the most out of all of us." Tanith whispered, "All I wanted to do... was try to help you hurt...less...to help you release those frustrations"

"No Tanith... Not like this... " Miles begged and begged, but it was too late. Tanith's eyes were blank as her body went limp. The last thing she saw was blinking lights, the last thing she felt was her throbbing head, and the sound of her brain drowning in blood. Her final words were, "I'm sorry..."

Chelsea too was fighting back the tears that were forming as she quickly squeezed Miles shoulder in comfort. "Miles..."

Miles was sobbing lowly as he pressed forward to press his lips on Tanith's before closing her eyes. "And we never... had that fish you promised..."

**ooo**

Chelsea was sitting at the front desk of the clinic, still extremely somber about what happened to Tanith. It made her angry, leaving someone to die in the alleyways like rats. She was too phased to read, not that she needed to for any longer as the door opened and a customer stepped in.

"Hello there! How can I help you?" Chelsea asked trying her best to put on a smile.

"Hey there lass" It was a burly man, big upper figure. He wore a police uniform and it had many badges lined along the shoulders. "Graham here, Sheriff Graham. Do you people know if you can fix something for me?"

Chelsea's instant reaction was that she scrunched her eyes and scowled slightly in disgust. "_This bastard..." _she sounded in her mind. "What do you need fixed?" She asked as she tried to keep calm.

"You see here, someone accidentally hit me in the back, and now it's been killing me for the past day or two. I was wondering if you can work your magic needles and get it cleared up" Graham replied.

"Of course, step this way. I'll be with you shortly" Chelsea replied quickly before slipping into the back room. She was in deep conflict right now. Was she to perform another murder to avenge Tanith? The mere thought of it made Chelsea's hands tremble, but then she remembered Miles face, and how much he had been enduring up until now by the hand of Graham.

"_They're just a bunch of kids and teens with no means of fighting back..." _Chelsea began as she washed her hands. "_But they're just kids, their lives would never be the same if they fought." _ She then dried them with a towel before resolving her decision. Something inside her told her that this was the right thing to do. "_I'm no different from them, a kid. But still, better that my hands are the ones that spill blood instead of theirs."_

With this in mind, Chelsea cracked her knuckles and smiled a devilish grin as the stick of her lollipop protruded from the gaps between her teeth. Something inside her made her feel confident, but it was also something sinister.

Then, a plan formed as she stood there. "Wait..." She couldn't kill him the same way that she killed Tannor, that would attract too much attention from Mister Tong. So she resolved for an equally as lethal, but an extended and untraceable method. Retracing her reading that she did with the books that Mister Tong lent her, her plan was set in motion.

"He never saw it coming" Chelsea had never felt this sensation before. Despite knowing that the act of killing was wrong, the act of killing a wrong doer was somehow made right. That feeling of punishing those for their crimes with death gave her a sense of justice. "Karma... and retribution..." she whispered as she entered the room to begin the procedure. "_Time for yours..."_

**ooo**

"Have a nice day!" Chelsea waved as the Sheriff closed the door behind him.

"Ah, was that Sheriff Graham?" Mister Tongs voice sounded as he stopped right next to her.

"Why yes it was indeed" She responded in a positive manner.

Mister Tong was slightly suspicious as she said this, "What did you do?" he asked, he was sure that she did something, and he planted his hands on his hips waiting for an answer.

Chelsea did nothing except hold the biochemistry book that he had lent her, "This is a very interesting book Mister Tong"

"Chelsea" Tong rolled his eyes as he rubbed her head, "I underestimated you"

A smile of attention was spread across Chelsea's face as Mister Tong complimented her. "Well..." she was about to say as she saw out the window and the corner of her eye. Graham was smiling and laughing as he held a boy in his arms, and a woman by his side.

Little did Graham know that Chelsea had laced the needles she used with a poison. As the needles were applied to puncture the outer layer of the skin, the poison would then be absorbed by the pores of the skin, and kept there for a couple of hours until it eventually gets absorbed into the bloodstream. Chelsea wanted to make it as painful as possible, and ingredients she used contributed to destroying his stomach. The chemicals that she used would cause the mucus lining in the stomach to break down, thus burning holes in his stomach and leading to an internal breakdown of organs. Death would take a matter of minutes.

Despite her plan being successful, however, when Chelsea saw him with his family, there was this strange feeling in her pit of her stomach. "_What if his son saw him suffering like that...?"_ Thoughts like this and similar began to arise in her head, and she didn't know that answers to them.  
"_Was this guilt?"_ She asked herself.

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter feels very sloppy, but the original intention for this chapter was somewhat different than the way it turned out. And honestly, I wasn't sure how to pan this chapter out anyway. I just wrote, and let that take me wherever. Let me know if this chapter feels really rushed because I actually do want to get things in motion for Chelsea!**

**Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! See you next time!**


	5. Compliments and Deceit

**Chapter 4 – Compliments and Deceit **

_**Linda:** D-do you guys always hang out up here on this h-hill?_

_**Chelsea: **Yup. It's nice and breezy up here, and this ol' tree here gives nice shade._

_**Donney: **It's co-comfortable enough to take a nice nap too!_

_**Chelsea:** Haha, it's kind of like a little piece of heaven in this world of hell._

It was a quiet day as Chelsea had leaned against the tree of their usual lunch spot. The clouds in the sky made their way slowly across as the grass rustled with the weaving wind. Chelsea felt a moment of peace as she savored the taste of her lollipop.

"You're unusually tame today Chelsea" Miles voice had sounded as Chelsea saw him sitting at the edge of the top of the hill. He was munching on a banana as he looked towards her, "You want some?" he offered.

Chelsea simply shook her head as she glanced over at Donney napping and Suzan enjoying the sunlight. "What do you mean by tame?" she asked with a curved eyebrow.

Miles simply turned his head, "Usually you'd be more talkative and teasing. You've been rather quiet for the past few days."

"Is it wrong for me to be quiet sometimes?" Chelsea responded as she stood up and brushed the grass off her skirt before sitting next to him. "Beside , shouldn't you be the one who's quiet?" she joked, it might have seemed extremely insensitive, but Miles didn't mind.

It had been well over a month since Tanith's death by the hands of the Sheriff, yet, as of recent, Miles seemed to be alright. He had to admit, at first, he didn't even come to school for almost two weeks straight. "Sometimes, here or there I find myself thinking about her." Miles replied as he closed his eyes. "But I realized that there's no point in killing myself mentally over it."

Chelsea nodded in agreement, holding the stick of her lollipop out to let her mouth breathe. "I read in the newspaper a while back that the Sheriff died."

"That was one of the first things I heard about" Miles sighed in relief as he looked up at the sky. "He certainly deserved what had came for him. But I don't think, I would have had the guts to do it myself. I don't think any of us could have, except Tanith. Yet, I thank whoever did the deed."

"Do you ever think... about what his family might have gone through when they found him dead?" Chelsea had suddenly asked as she put the lollipop back in her mouth. It was an honest question, that was tugging her mind as she tried to understand the complexity of morality.

Miles glanced over at Chelsea with raised eyebrows over the somewhat thought provoking question, "Huh... I never thought about it that way before..." he thought it over, "I suppose... they would be just as angry and sad as I was after losing someone they love."

"Even though they knew what he was doing to other people" Chelsea asked in response.

Again he thought about it, before nodding. "Yes."

"But why?"

'You see Chelsea..." He began, "People will love those who treat them the way they would want to be treated. And since he loved his family, they love him back. Even if he's a bad man in the eyes of other people, his family and those close to him will still care about him, because they know him on a personal level. But just like how he takes the lives of those close to us and more, it is not different the other way around. They might view us as bad people, just like how we view them as bad people, and like normal human beings, we mourn over the loss of those we love"

Everyone was quite surprised at Miles maturity and deep understanding of morality, "Wow Miles..." Suzan commented.

"Now that's thinking deep" Donney said, still in his napping position.

"Hey, it's not that deep. I'm just saying what I think." He responded before finishing off, "I can't say that I don't hate him. And I can't say that he didn't deserve to die. But I can say that people will miss him, and mourn for him."

**ooo**

Chelsea thought about what Miles had said earlier in the day. She understood completely where he was coming from, yet, she couldn't wrap her head around it. She still thought, how could a man so despicable, have any redeeming qualities? It perplexed her as she walked through the halls of school.

She stared at herself in the mirror before washing her face. The cool water relaxed the mind as she cleared up the jumble that was so. Chelsea had been thinking a lot lately, often lamenting over her killing these two men so far. The feeling at the pit of her stomach made her uneasy as she looked into her own eyes, "_Am I too unforgiving? Or am I too blinded by this justice I feel, to see the good in others?" _

Her internal dialogue was interrupted, however, but the sound of something metallic dropping in the stalls behind her. "What was that?" she wondered as she turned around to inspect. The exact stall was unknown, but Chelsea had a general idea of where it might have come from. Then, she heard someone rapidly breathing, and then she knew something suspicious was up. Pushing open the door of a stall, she found it surprising that it was unlocked, and a girl was there, sitting on the floor.

"E-eeek!" She squealed trying to cover up what she was doing on the toilet seat.

"L-Linda?" Chelsea asked in surprise as she scanned what the girl was doing. Linda was a classmate of Chelsea's who wore round glasses and had short light blue hair. She was considered one of the least appealing girls in the class due to her nerdy look and when compared to the other girls in the class. Often times she was teased and harassed by the popular girls group, and was simply ignored by many of the guys too. Despite this though, she was very smart in her academics in comparison to Chelsea, who did "well". But through all of that, Chelsea considered Linda to be the most socially awkward person in the class. Most of the time, she was a nervous wreck and usually stammered.

Before Chelsea said anything else, she noticed a white chalky powder that was sitting on top of a brown cloth. There were small test tubes and beakers that were along the flat portions of the toilet cover. The metallic clank she heard were probably from the tongs that she was holding "Linda... are you...?!"

"No no no!" Linda pleaded in reply as she folded her hands, "It's not wh-what it looks like! P-please don't tell anyone!"

Chelsea held no malice against Linda and often times felt sorry for her. Deciding to give her a chance, she tried to calm Linda down, "Alright, alright. I won't tell anyone. But you have to explain yourself."

Linda was on the verge of tears as she thanked Chelsea, "L-Let me just p-put this stuff away first."

**ooo**

"Linda... are you actually doing those?" Chelsea asked as she crossed her arms and looked around the corner of the building. They were in an isolated part of campus where they could talk in private.

"N-No! I-I swear!" Linda said in defense as she shook her hands, "I would n-never do anything like that! I know what it d-does to your body"

Chelsea was a little bit skeptical as she asked in reply, "Then what was that I saw in the restroom stall then?"

"I-..." She paused, hesitating to say anything. Chelsea leaned her head forward and waited for a reply.

Linda's knees were shaking as she twiddled her thumbs, "C-Can you keep a secret Chelsea...?"

Chelsea was about to say no in order to keep a safeguard against herself in case she were to be related to Linda in any way, but then reflected upon it, looking at herself. Chelsea, just like Linda, had dark secrets. Except that Chelsea's were much darker than hers, so she decided to give Linda a chance. "Okay, sure. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Re-really?" Linda asked in reply, somewhat skeptical of Chelsea.

"Yes, you have my word"

The trembling girl breathed in a moment, "Do y-you know Rochelle?"

"The rich girl in our class right?" Chelsea nodded in reply, "What about her?"

"I-I'm making..." Linda spoke lowly this time, "I'm b-being forced to m-make it for her"

A stifle of surprise hit Chelsea as she widened her eyes, "Rochelle is forcing you to make drugs for her?" Rochelle was considered the richest girl in the school. All the time she would hang around her own group of aristocratic friends and bully and tease other students who weren't as high status as they were. She literally controlled the school social hierarchy with an iron fist. Although Rochelle disliked Suzan, she and Chelsea were on surprisingly good terms.

Linda held a finger up and whispered "Shhhhh! L-Let the entire sch-school find out will you? She's bl-blackm-mailing me into doing it" Without waiting for a response, Linda began explain her situation from the beginning.

**ooo**

_Call my parents divorced, but that's not exactly the case. My father left my mother when I was younger, and it was just me and her. For some strange reason, he kept supporting us despite leaving mother. With that money, he enrolled me in school and left me a message telling me to do well to support my mother. Mother, however, due to depression of being left by father, had begun to use these narcotics to forget. _

_She became uncaring, and abusive at first, but she then just stopped caring at all. All she does all day is lie around, snorting and injecting this white powder into herself until she passes out. I honestly don't care anymore. These days I bore with, however, one day, that all changed. I was at home, going about my business until I heard a knock on the door._

_To my surprise, it was Rochelle. I thought to myself, "What would Rochelle ever need from me?"_

_She was just as surprised to see me answer the front door. "So who do we have here Linda?" She sneered to me in a snobby voice, "So you're the daughter of this crack addicted money withholding whore aren't you?"_

"_Wh-what are you-?" I asked, not quite understanding what was going on until a large burly man held a gun to my forehead. At that moment, I looked behind me and saw my mother, still passed out on the table, unaware of the immediate danger that I was in._

"_That bitch of a mother owes me money, now if she doesn't have it. I'm gonna have to do with you both" Rochelle demanded as she slapped me in the face. "Now where's my money?"_

"_S-she doesn't have it!" I called out, my heart pounding in my throat. As much as I didn't care for my mother, I couldn't just let her be killed like that._

"_Aww, well that's such a shame Linda!" Rochelle said as she flicked her crème blond hair, "I don't really like you, but it's a shame to kill you."_

_Her henchman pulled down the hammer of his gun, ready to shoot. But I cried out before he did, begging, "P-please! I-I'll do anything! Just d-don't kill me, or m-mother!"_

"_Ohh...?" The aristocratic girl had a gleam in her eye, "Anything you say?"_

"_A-anything!" I gagged in reply with tears in my eyes as I folded my hands and knelt down._

_Rochelle stepped forward and raised my chin with her finger, "You're good at chemistry right?"_

"_Y-yes..."_

"_And no one at school gives a shit about you most of the time right?" She indirectly insulted me as her eyes were filled with malice._

_I swallowed what little pride I had left, "I-I suppose" _

"_Good..." She replied as she kicked me in the face, knocking my glasses off and sending me to the floor, "Then from now on, you'll be working for me. And if you ever think to cross me, I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head" _

**ooo**

Chelsea had not known that Linda was in such a predicament after she told her story yesterday, "_But then again, it's no surprise..."_ She said to herself as she thought about Suzan and Miles, and the things they've been through. She couldn't help but feel bad for Linda, but then again, what could she do? The thought of taking out Rochelle crossed her mind, but this time, she shook it away. "_There's nothing I can do"_ Not only was the thought of killing a classmate unsettling to Chelsea still, but she saw no opportunity that could possibly arise where she could take a hit.

While she was contemplating all of this, she closed her locker and looked to the side, only to catch Rochelle by the eye.

"Oh,why hello there Chelsea!" Rochelle said in a friendly manner, despite having a very cocky look in her eyes.

"H-hello there Rochelle" Chelsea replied, caught by surprise at Rochelle greeting her.

"That's a very cute headband" She responded as she pointed to Chelsea's signature butterfly headband, "It looks nice on you"

"Thank you" She couldn't help but reply as Rochelle complimented her looks.

Rochelle was about to leave before she turned around, "Say, I'm having a party at my house later this week. You're invited, would you like to come?"

This opportunity caused Chelsea to pause for a moment as she took it into thought, "I have a test later this week, but I'll give it some thought"

A flick of hair was seen as Rochelle turned around again and began walking away, "Alright then, see you there~"

As she departed, Chelsea stared at here, still thinking for a moment. In all actuality, she was quite flattered that Rochelle had invited her to a party. Normally, Rochelle wouldn't invite anyone to her parties except the girls in her own group of friends. This struck as very strange and somewhat complimenting to Chelsea. "_She thinks I look nice"_ she thought to herself with a slight smile, letting the girl inside her blossom.

As she was walking to class, however, she overheard a group of girls talking about something in particular.

"Hey did you get invited to Rochelle's party?"

"No, did you?"

"I did! I hear it's going to be real fancy!"

"How come she's inviting so many people?"

"I dunno, but it's going to be sweet! I need to find a dress now!"

Chelsea furrowed her eyebrows as she heard this, "_No no, maybe they're just desirable in Rochelle's eyes..."_ She thought as she continued on. There was something suspicious, she could tell. But another part of her rejected it. As walked into class, she noticed Suzan was chatting with some girls in the class before she waved at Chelsea to come over.

"Hey! Did you get invited to Rochelle's party?" Suzan asked, but her voice actually wasn't very excited.

Chelsea nodded before asking, "You got invited didn't you?"

Suzan nodded also, taking note of how strange it was for Rochelle to invite her out of all people.

"But don't you and Rochelle hate each other?" Chelsea added in, not quite understanding Rochelle's brazen actions thus far. Suzan and Rochelle had this sort of rivalry going on where Rochelle would bully some of the lesser popular students, and Suzan would defend them. Since Suzan had the muscle to defend them physically, Rochelle would back off. " So why would she invite you?"

A shrug came from Suzan as her mouth curved downward, "I have no clue, but I'm not going anyway. Are you?"

Chelsea took here lollipop and tapped it on her tongue, "I dunno. Maybe."

"You don't seriously plan on going are you?!" Suzan cautioned as she leaned forward.

"I said maybe! There's just something suspicious about this whole thing" Chelsea replied as she pet Suzan's hair to get her to calm down. Usually Suzan's hair goes all puffy when she's agitated or annoyed. She usually doesn't like it when Chelsea patronizes her like that, but Chelsea does it anyway as a form of affection.

"Just be careful okay? I have a bad feeling about this party" Suzan replied, "She might pull off something dirty, like a prank or something"

"_Or maybe something even more sinister"_ Chelsea added to that thought.

**ooo**

School was let out, and Chelsea took this free afternoon to her advantage to go shopping with the money she earned from working. Mister Tong let her have the day off, so she figured she should treat herself once in a while. Donney was in detention for not doing well in his studies, and Suzan was at tutoring because she felt like she wasn't doing well. The just left Chelsea by herself for now.

Licking her ice cream cone slowly as to savor the taste, she sat in the shade on a bench at a nearby ice cream shop. The cool touch of the sweet ice cream soothed her tongue from her constant sucking on lollipops. She loved lollipops, but sometimes it couldn't help but cause her tongue to get irritated from time to time.

It's warmer than usual for this time of year..." Chelsea thought to herself as she looked up at the sky. It was cloudless and sunny. She was staring off into the distance of the street, gazing at the people passing by and by.

"_Look at you" _A voice whispered.

Chelsea looked around to see who was talking to her, but no one. She wasn't sure if it was a prank of some sort, but she wasn't buying it.

"_You sly clever bitch"_ It was a different voice this time.

"_You killed us..."_

"_Murderer!"_

"_Cold hearted!"_

"_My family mourns for my death!"_

The voices continued and continued for a while as Chelsea sat there, frozen with her mind in agony. It was them, the voices were those of Tannor and Graham. "_Shut up..." _she said in her mind, "_SHUT UP YOU MONSTERS!" _She was in such mental distress that she dropped her ice cream and clasped shut her hands over her ears, but it didn't help.

Then, that feeling in her stomach came back, and then she felt uneasy. "_What... is happening to me...?"_

She clutched the sides of her head as she trembled for a few moments, before she heard another voice. "Chelsea...?"

Then, the other voices in her head were quiet, as she looked up to see who called her name. It was Linda, who was heading back home from school. "What's wrong?" she asked as she pushed the rim of her glasses up.

Chelsea blinked a few times before taking her hands off her head, "N-nothing, I-I just dropped my ice cream."

"Oh that's such a shame" Linda empathized.

"Oh, it wasn't that expensive." Chelsea replied as she unwrapped a lollipop that was in her bag, "Where are you off to Linda?"

Linda looked down the street before responding, "On my way back home, what about you?"

"I was just enjoying the afternoon" Chelsea replied as she patted the bench next to her, "Do you want some ice cream? My treat" Think of it as her way of trying to help out Linda since Chelsea felt rather bad for her. But there was more to the act than what Chelsea thought at first. Little did she know that it was a way of her trying to quell the building guilt that was deep inside her.

"Eh? A-are you sure...?" Linda began to ask as she put up a slight fit of panic. "I-I can pay for it myself! Let me just..." she began searching he bag for her wallet, which, to her comical disappointment, was empty.

Chelsea couldn't help but chuckle in reply, "Don't worry about it. Just relax once in a while" she urged as she got up and went back inside the store. Soon, she returned with two ice cream cones and handed one to Linda, "Here, I didn't know what flavor you liked so I just got vanilla"

"Oh! I should have told you thought! Oh no..." Linda lashed at herself before licking it, "Though, I like vanilla.."

A slightly confused smile was swept across Chelsea's face as she sat down next to Linda, "Are you always this nervous?" she teasingly inquired.

"N-Nervous..? Well... I suppose... b-but I've b-been growing m-more and more para-paranoid because of Ro-Rochelle" Just by saying it made Linda quiver quite a bit. "S-she's been pressuring m-me more now for s-some reason. And s-she's been demanding more money from me lately."

Chelsea's eyebrows scrunched as Linda shared this with her, and got her thinking. "Has anything been different about her lately?"

"R-rochelle?" Linda began to think as her gaze went about, "Well... she's more pi-pissed than usual. And a wh-whole lot more impatient too. At least within t-this past w-week. But she's also..."

Linda paused, and Chelsea glanced at her, "Also what?"

"She s-seems... very on edge. I overheard some o-of the girls in her group talking. T-they said that something ha-happened in her network, and that she was a-agitated by it." Linda finished.

"Agitated...?" Chelsea repeated, taking note of how casually she and Linda were talking about a drug kingpins illegal network. It occurred to Chelsea how badly Linda could keep a secret. "Say, Linda... Did you get invited to Rochelle's party?"

It didn't catch Linda by surprise, surprisingly, as she simply nodded. "Apparently, R-rochelle invited a lot of people fr-from the school, e-even one's she had no interest in, like me. B-but I have no interest in going."

Chelsea took a bite of her ice cream as she felt the tingling sensation radiate through her teeth, "Why's that?"

Linda smiled slightly, "What would an unpopular girl like me be d-doing at a fancy party li-like that?"

A slight chuckle came from Chelsea, curving an eyebrow in return, "Don't let those girls ruin what you think of yourself"

"It's n-not what I think of myself. It's just that... all I really w-want is a group of friends I-I can truly call my friends. Being around lots of people li-like that, it's just not who I am" She responded, biting into her cone. "What about you Chelsea? Are y-you going?"

"Yea..." Chelsea responded as she stuffed the rest of her ice cream cone in her mouth, "There's something I wanna check out first."

**ooo**

"Chelsea! So glad you could make it!" Rochelle's enlightened voice said as she welcomed Chelsea to her extravagant home. "Your dress too! It looks so great with your headband!"

Chelsea couldn't handle the compliments as she spoke out in embarrassment, "Ahehehe, my mother picked it out for me" Her mother had picked out a dark red opera dress that had white frills at the bottom. She wore black laced shoes that matched her headband, and were comfortable enough for movement.

"Well nonetheless, you look topnotch, if I do say so myself" Rochelle replied as she flicked her hair to demonstrate her looks, "Now come! There's plenty of food and drinks. A lot of people from the school are here, so get out there and be social." she winked.

The inside of her house was much larger than Chelsea had anticipated, "_Is this where all her money goes towards?!" _She thought to herself, eyes wide with surprise at just about how many people were here. There must have been around one hundred guests or so, many of whom Chelsea did not recognize. Along with that, many of the guests were men also, not just the students from the school. People were mingling around the entire ballroom, tables were set up with gourmet class foods and crystal silverware of the finest quality. All of it seemed overly extravagant for a party hosted by a high school student over celebrating nothing.

"Hey Chelsea!" a group of students from her class said hello to her.

"Hi!" She waved back as she poured herself a glass of punch. She glanced at the envelope that one of the servers gave to her. Supposedly, there was going to be an announcement in the middle of the night, and those with a special ticket in the envelope that would enroll the holder in a raffle to win a special prize.

Chelsea wondered what that special prize would be, since it seemed very sketchy that a raffle prize would become a mystery. She stayed aloof and eyed the entire scene. There were guards around the perimeter keeping watch.

"_Just what is she planning?"_ Chelsea wondered, anxious and calculating, "_It's something big. I can tell..."_ As she stood there with the cup constantly to her mouth, her eye caught someone moving through the crowd. The person was shrouded, but she saw a glimpse of their face.

"_Mister Tong...?"_ She could have sworn it was Mister Tong, but as soon a she blinked, he was gone. Chelsea weaved her way closer to where she saw him, but no trace. It was as if she were just hallucinating or something. "_That was him... I know it!"_

After giving up on her search, the night went along. Before long, the attention was turned to the stage where Rochelle spoke on the microphone.

"Hello there my pretties!" Her obnoxious voice sounded, "I hope you're having a great time! Now, before evening ends, I would like to call on each and every one of you to check your envelopes that you received upon coming in. If you got a golden ticket, please make your way to the hallway to your right. The servers will check your tickets. So don't think about pulling something fast!" Before the crowd could express their loss, Rochelle continued to speak, "But don't worry! We'll have a separate drawing later during the night for the rest of you folks!"

Chelsea scrunched her face at how cheesy Rochelle sounded in contrast to knowing her actual personality. Looking down at the envelope she had in her hands, she opened it, and to her surprise, there was a golden ticket in it. "Ah..." She had a nervous smile on her face. "_Am I supposed to feel happy? Or nervous?"_ After all, knew something was suspicious. As Chelsea was still recovering from the surprise of getting a ticket, her eye caught glimpse of Rochelle weaving her way through the rather large stream of golden ticket winners and decided to follow in pursuit. Showing her ticket to the servant, she slipped through the crowd and hallway entrance, to see Rochelle sharply turn right.

It seemed that the crowd was going into another room at the end of the hallway. There must have been about thirty winners of the golden ticket, from what Chelsea could figure out.

She decided to stick with the crowd for now, and as they entered the room she noticed the abundance of guards that were standing watch.

Some of the guests were expressing their unease around this many guards. Others were still excited about winning, and there were those like Chelsea who were anxious to see what was going to happen next. There was something wrong, Chelsea knew it. Many of the people here in the group, she noticed, were either part of Rochelle's group, came from very wealthy families, and or were very attractive physically.

"Hello there winners!" Rochelle's voice sounded as she came through the large double doors on the opposite side of the room, "Oh you guys are winners alright! But you know, in this world, there are two types of winners. One kind of winner actually gets something good out of winning. The other kind doesn't" Her voice suddenly became much more snide and menacing, "Guess what kind of winners you guys are?"

"Hey, what the fuck is this Rochelle!" A girl lashed out, presumably from her group of friends.

"Oh, just your prize" Rochelle replied as her smile became wide and wicked, snapping her fingers. As she did this, the sound of guns being loaded was heard as all the guards around them pulled them out. "My henchmen know which of you die, and which of you live. But don't worry those of you who still get to live. I've got _a lot_ more up in store for you"

As everyone realized what kind of situation they were in, they realized that the drawing was rigged, and that they were chosen on purpose. Chelsea's eyes suddenly became wide as recounted all the times Rochelle complimented her appearance. "_So those compliments were all fake..._" The thought rang disappointingly in her mind before a wave of paranoia was brought up inside her.

The guards began to single out select members in the group, and they all seemed to be part of Rochelle's group. All of them were shocked after being tricked by Rochelle, some of them even began to panic as the guards held guns at them.

"No! No no no!" One of them cried out as she realized what was going to happen. "You backstabber! You bitch!" she hollered out.

"Shut up!" Rochelle said as one of the guards held a gun to the girls head, "I'm just taking precautions, just in case someone decided to stab mine." And with a snap of her fingers, the guard was ready to press the trigger when suddenly.

"Gah!?" The guard who was holding the girl at gunpoint felt the sharp pain of a blade being punched into his chest. There was a cloaked figure who was behind him, pulling the blade out as he fell to the side.

"Who?!" Rochelle surprisingly replied as she pointed to the cloaked figure, "Assassins! Kill him! Don't let him get near me!" She called out as she began to run behind the double doors. The guards all took offense as they held their guns out at the figure.

Panic was pulsing through the room as the bystanders ducked and ran out of the way and room. But before the guards started to shoot, the cloaked figure threw a small sized bomb which filled the room with a thick and dark smoke.

Gunshots and flashes from the muzzle were heard and seen followed by the screams and yells of guards being cut apart. The shots startled Chelsea as she ducked and tried to see around her, hugging close to the wall. She was in a state of panic also, but her mind was still focused on Rochelle. Getting on her fours, she began to crawl her way to the other side of the room.

"Ah!" She yelped as the body of a guard had fallen right before her. She felt her heart skip a beat before trying to work her way around. But her eye caught sight of the guards fallen gun, and at that moment as she picked it up, she knew what she was going to do next. With her heart still racing, she looked through the double doors and darted through, going down the hall. It led to a flight of stairs, which Chelsea assumed would lead to the back balcony where Rochelle would try to make her escape. The top of the stairs led her to the third floor where the balcony was right before her. Like she guessed, Rochelle was there, just having stopped from her escape, and was about to descend from a rope that was tied to the railing.

"Hold it right there Rochelle!" Chelsea called out, quickly closing the gap between her and Rochelle as she held the gun straight at her.

"Ch-Chelsea! W-what are you... H-hold on!" Rochelle replied with her hands up, knowing that were wasn't any escape, except jumping off the balcony. Alas, Rochelle was too cowardly to do it though.

"It's exactly as it looks like" Chelsea replied as she pulled the hammer on the gun. She had seen people use guns many times before, and it was by mere intuition that she pulled the hammer. "Now tell me, why did you do this?"

It was to the point where Rochelle was so agitated, she began to crack. "Why...? WHY? I own a drug EMPIRE Chelsea! No reign goes unchallenged. I had to purge my ranks of traitors." Rochelle despairingly spoke as her eyes fumed with a passionate rage.

"All empires fall" Chelsea responded, "Then what about me huh? What about the other people that had nothing to do with you?"

Rochelle began to laugh hysterically as she stared at Chelsea with deranged eyes, "HAHAH! You just don't get it don't you? Why do you think I always complimented your looks? You're too pretty Chelsea! All those other people were prettier than me! No one has the right to be more beautiful than me! You would have made a very suitable plaything for some of my associates you know?"

There was a sense of anger that built up in Chelsea as she felt her finger inch closer and close to pull the trigger.

"I betcha that dumb broad Linda spilled everything about me huh? I shoulda killed her when I had the chance!"

"Don't talk about one of my friends like that!" Without even thinking about it, Chelsea pulled the trigger, and with a loud bang, Rochelle was sent backwards falling to the ground. Red streams of blood were trickling down her forehead as Chelsea dropped the gun, her arms trembling at what she had just done. Her heart was racing as she slowly took steps towards Rochelle's cold body. Here eyes were a bottomless abyss, and that feeling in Chelsea's stomach came back. She couldn't look anymore, her eyes were watering. Quickly closing Rochelle's eyes, she fled the scene and back down the flight of stairs.

**ooo**

As Chelsea fled the area, a robed figure had emerged from the end of the balcony as they stood over Rochelle's body. It was the same robed figure that had caused the distraction in the room before. "Oh dear, it seems I might be in a fickle" The figure said as they lowered their hood. It was Mister Tong, and he he looked back at the flight of stairs that Chelsea had just descended. "Great, what a big mess you've gotten into eh Chelsea?" He murmured before leaving.

**A/N: Not much to say about this chapter. I was kind of getting writers blocked this entire chapter though, so if it feels a bit rushed or the story seems sloppy, please tell me! Other than that, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you next time!**


	6. Hearing them Talk

**Chapter 5 – Hearing Them Talk**

_**Remy:**__Is there ever a place in this world for someone like me Chelsea?_

_**Chelsea: **Remy, just because you're not smart doesn't mean you're worthless_

_**Remy:** I know, but I just can't help but feel that way, and I feel bad for dragging everyone else down because of it._

_**Chelsea:** Don't worry, we all feel like we're worthless at some point. But no point in brooding it, go out and make it so we're worth something!_

_**Remy:** Haha, now you're sounding just like me!_

_The halls of school were very quiet save for a few footsteps for students who were on their way to do after school activities, or students like Donney who were staying after for extra tutoring. Linda was roaming the halls in search of Chelsea. The rumors about what happened at the party last night had spread through the school like wildfire, and __everyone__ seemed to know what happened. _

_When she approached Rochelle's group of friends, they seemed too shaken to speak. To add, she noticed that Rochelle wasn't at school, and as she inquired, they had told her that they suspected that Rochelle was dead. This partially shocked Linda almost as much as she was relieved. However, Linda couldn't help but think about the words Chelsea said days before. _

"_There's something I wanna to check out first..."_

_This coupled with Chelsea's unusual behavior caused Linda to gasp. Her suspicions began to surface for fear that she may have been right. "O-Oh dear..." She murmured nervously, picking up pace._

_Lo and behold, Linda found Chelsea in the restroom where she was caught by Chelsea. "C-Chelsea! There you are!" Linda voiced._

_Chelsea was leaning on the sink, her face damp from the water of the sink. Her skin was paler than her usual natural paleness, and her eyes were uneasy, as if she were sick at the stomach. "Oh... Linda"_

"_A-are you okay? You don't l-look too well. Did s-something happen at the p-party last night?" Linda asked, approaching Chelsea in sincere concern. _

"_I don't want to talk about it..." Chelsea replied with a sigh, looking at herself in the mirror once more. _

"_Chelsea...I-"_

"_Linda..." She interrupted Linda suddenly as she turned to glare at the nervous girl, "Have you ever killed someone?"_

_Linda simply shook her head, and out of the anxiety building up inside her, she asked, "Chelsea... did you...?!"_

_Tired eyes turned towards Linda, and a finger over Chelsea's mouth soon followed. "I kept your secret. Now you keep mine" After she said this, Chelsea smiled toothily. _

_Linda couldn't help but halfheartedly smile, knowing this didn't change her view on Chelsea one bit. "Thank you Chelsea..."_

**6 Months Later**

"How'd you do on that test Donney?" A friend of Donney's asked, a very active voice by that fact. His name was Remy. Remy's a classmate and friend of Donney's who began hanging out with Donny and the rest for a couple of months now. He was an energetic boy, eccentric and upbeat. Glasses were planted on his face, and despite the intelligent appearance, he wasn't all that smart in actuality. Average would be the correct word to describe how well he excelled at school. Similar to Donney in a sense.

"Not too bad I guess" Donney replied leisurely, staring up at the clouds as the group of friends sat for lunch at their usual hill spot.

"What about you Remy? Getting average marks like usual?" Chelsea remarked with a playful smile.

"Ahahahaha! You're right on the spot Chelsea!" Remy replied, his fingers combing through his messy black hair. He had a handsome face, and stood the tallest in the entire group. Compared to Remy, Linda, who was the shortest, stood at about the bottom of his chest.

"I guess the joke didn't work" Suzan added with a halfhearted smile as Linda began to giggle slightly.

Chelsea rolled her eyes, but didn't mind it too much. "Always optimistic aren't you Remy?"

Remy simply shrugged with a smile on his face, "There's no reason for me not to! I firmly believe that putting a smile on your face is the best way to get through life!" He hollered out with his arms outstretched, and his uniform blowing with the wind.

Chelsea began to laugh, and soon, everyone began to laugh with her. Even Miles chuckled a bit. "What? What's so funny?" Remy had an awkward smile on his face as he pointed to himself, slouching over a bit to turn and face his friends.

"You yelled it out so loud. I'm pretty sure the entire school heard you say that" Chelsea responded, trying to catch her breath in between strokes of laughter. When she said this, Remy began to laugh as well as he turned back.

"That's good then! I want the entire school... no, the entire world to know!" He also hollered out. "Smiling is awesome!"

**ooo**

"You ever wonder why Remy's so optimistic all the time?" Chelsea asked Donney as they were sitting in class doing pair activities.

Donney thought about it for a moment while tapping his chin with his pencil, "I asked him the same thing before. He told me that since life is full of downs, being sad and depressed about something will only make it worse. So smile to make yourself feel better at least." He said before shrugging. "Some sound advice though, I gotta give him props for that at least"

Chelsea's lower lip curved upward as she shrugged, giving Donney and "I don't know" kind of look before agreeing. "Well everyone could use a smile once in a while"

"Now here's an example of something that won't make me smile" The teacher said dully from behind Chelsea as he tapped her head with the spine of his small notepad. "Your classwork isn't going to do itself Chelsea and Donney. Now hop to it"

"Yes Teacher" Both Chelsea and Donney replied rather embarrassingly as they hastily got back on track.

**ooo**

"_Being sad and depressed will only make it worse..._" Chelsea whispered to herself while cleaning her set of needles individually. They were submerged in a bowl of sanitizer to prevent the spread of infection and such. Mister Tong was open today, but she wasn't going to do any procedures. Instead, he instructed to go over safety protocol and get used to cleaning her instruments. "_So smile to make yourself feel better"_ What Donney quoted Remy made Chelsea wonder for a moment as her monologue continued. _"I feel like it's going to take much more than a smile to make me feel better about myself. Then how? How do I make me feel better about myself? I'm killer for crying out loud! But... but I killed bad people... yet, how come I still feel this guilt? What is wrong with me?" _This internal turmoil kept on swooshing in Chelsea's mind as she felt a sharp, but subtle pain in her thumb.

"Ow!" She yelped, looking at what happened. It seemed that while her train of thought kept going on its tracks, she pricked herself in the thumb with a needle. A stream of blood began dripping from her thumb as a towel was quickly drawn over it. Clambering up the stairs, Chelsea searched through Mister Tongs medicine cabinet in the bathroom in search of a bandage to wrap around her thumb.

Literally "wrapping" things up, Chelsea was about to get back onto her business when she heard the bell of the front door ring. Mister Tong was already at the counter, and she could hear his ever calm voice.

"Hello there young man! What can I have the pleasure of doing for you today?" He readily asked.

"Oh! Hello there!" A familiar voice replied. It was energetic in tone, as if it were always happy to see anyone.

Chelsea leaned in on the entrance to the stairs from the second floor even closer. "_That voice!_" No doubt about it, just by simply hearing his voice, Remy's was almost impossible not to recognize once someone like Chelsea gets used to it.

"Are you the killer for hire?" He bluntly asked, "The grocer recommended me to you"

Mister Tong was slightly surprised at how blunt Remy was, "Ahehehe" he laughed nervously looking around to make sure Chelsea wasn't nearby. Little did he know that Chelsea was eavesdropping. He had thought that Chelsea was still in the prep room cleaning her needles, not upstairs getting a bandage.

He leaned towards Remy and whispered, "Let's discuss this in private." That was all Chelsea heard, but what was really important was the killer for hire portion. Her eyes widened as all the pieces came together. It was Mister Tong she saw at the party those months back. "Teaching me all these things... knowing that I've killed people and keeping it secret." Her mind was in a daze, glaring at her patched up thumb. "Is he... is he teaching me how to be a killer?"

**ooo**

"So young man, what did you need again?" Mister Tong asked, putting out the candles in his little office.

Remy shifted in his seat a little as he held a small sack of money on his lap, "Well, I have reason to believe that the Vice-principal of the school is conducting an operation of illegal slave trading, and is using the school as a cover up for it."

Mister Tong turned towards him inquiring, "You mean Vice-principal Leander?"

Remy nodded silently.

"What evidence do you have to make this assumption? I don't want to go around killing innocents you know"

Remy sat up straight before telling Mister Tong about an event that happened the week before. "You see, I usually stay after class for extra tutoring and stuff since I'm not so good at school. Last week when I was staying after, one of the teachers asked me to get some documents from the Vice-principals cabinet. He gave me the master keys to his office too since Leander wasn't at school that day. So I went. I told the secretary that I was getting something for my teacher, and she let me through. I opened the door to his office and searched his cabinet for what I needed. When I did, something else caught my eye. It was a small notebook that had a few money bills sticking out of it. Normally I would have ignored it, but I was curious. I took the book and opened it, and to my surprise, this little 'black book' had a whole lot of stuff in it. I saw notes of secrets about some of the staff, and even some of the students that were pretty damn private. And then I kept flipping through it, lists of illegal drugs and their prices and the dealers. I saw Rochelle's name in there crossed off with the note _Dead_ right next to it. But the most difficult thing for me to fathom was the list of 'tradables'. It was basically a list of students, mostly girls, some of them I knew, that had a price tag next to their name, and a small little note next to it. Some of them said like, To be sent to capital as concubine, or to be sent to Enthusiasts for "special treatment". Now knowing the rest of the things in this little book, I was like this is a list of slaves. To put it bluntly. And as the week went by, I noticed that some of those students were missing, and I knew something was up."

"I see" Mister Tong stroked his beard slowly as he nodded. Holding his hand out towards Remy, it was a sign that he was waiting for Remy to give him payment.

Before Remy handed over the money, he added, "But please confirm first! Like you said, you don't want to go around killing innocents right? I'm pretty sure what I saw was right, but still. Better safe than sorry!"

Mister Tong nodded, "I always make sure beforehand. Now before you go, this is just between the two of us correct?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Remys optimistic disposition seeped through as he smiled.

**ooo**

The next day, Chelsea was stuck after school cleaning the hall as a penalty for falling asleep in class. In recent days, the voices in her head have been keeping her up at night, depriving her of sleep. They've been haunting her for the past year, and even though she had gotten used to these voices, the feeling that she felt in her stomach was something to be hated to the core.

After stopping to finish sweeping away the dust and dirt on the floor, Chelsea paused to take her lollipop out of her mouth and take a breather. "What am I to do..." She was referring to the voices, sighing tiresomely gripping the broom with both her hands.

There were voices sounding in her ears again, but as she listened on, the realization came that it wasn't the voices in her head, they were the voices of real people. The origin came from the next classroom over from where Chelsea was standing.

"Anna, how many times have I told you not to refer to me as master when we're at school?" A mans voice sounded, rather constricting and demeaning in tone.

"S-sorry m-ma, I mean, Vice-principal Leander" The girls voice sounded familiar to Chelsea, as did Vice-principal Leander's.

"Good, now remember where we are meeting tomorrow."

"D-down in the locker room correct?"

Leander proceeded to backhand the girl in the face, "Yes! In the locker room. Let everyone know will you? That blabbering mouth of yours" His tone was scolding as the girl yelped.

"I'm s-sorry..."

"Bah, no matter. Now get going. I'll see you tomorrow after class"

Chelsea heard the footsteps as they dissipated in the opposite direction from where she was. Thankfully for her, she hid around the corner in the hallway perpendicular to the hallway they were in. When she found the coast to be clear, she glanced over. Curiosity had struck her senseless as the broom sounded through the halls. _Swoop! Swoop! Swoop..._

**ooo**

"Donney, how long have we known each other?" Chelsea asked Donney as they sat next to each other at their hillside lunch spot.

"I unno" Donney replied with a mouth full of carrot, swallowing, he continued, "I'd say maybe well over eight years?"

"Hmm..." The clouds were passing by as Chelsea stared at them, whisking around the lollipop stem protruding from her mouth, "Six months till graduation you know..."

Donney shot Chelsea a surprised stare, "Wait what? Six months, really?!"

Chelsea returned a stare with furrowed eyebrows, "Where have you been these past six months?"

He simply shrugged in reply, blinking a couple of times. "I never realized that time would go by this fast."

A chuckle came from Chelsea which eventually became a laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asked in reply.

"Hahaha..." Chelsea's laugh became a slowed giggle, "I remember you would always have a similar reaction whenever the year goes by. It's like you have no sense of time you sloth"

Donney actually began to turn red from Chelsea's teasing, "H-hey! I can't help it if I don't keep track of the days that go by. I just... try to enjoy them without worrying about the future."

"But you should be worrying about the future" She snarked in reply.

"I know! I know! But the thing is...is that I don't really know what I want to do" Donney said lowly.

He was waiting for Chelsea to make a remark, but instead, she slapped his back lightly, "You still have time. No rush." Her gaze was on the dancing grass and whispering wind. "Besides, didn't you say a while back that you wanted to join the military?"

"Oh..?" He thought about it for a moment as his fingers wrapped around his chin, "Oh! Oh yea huh..."

"See? What would you be without me Donney?" Chelsea cockily said as she tapped her own noggin with her knuckles.

Donney's eyes were rolling as they both were quiet again. Despite being so casual with Chelsea all the time, there were feelings buried deep within that he was so hesitant to get out. His heart raced whenever he thought about them, but when he tried to get them out, it never worked out for him. "Chelsea. Can I ask you something?" It was just the two of them for right now, and Donney felt that this was the perfect moment to come clean.

"Hmm?" She replied, giving an intent glance at him.

It was as if the words were blocked off by a wall in his throat. He sat there for a few seconds, trying to force the words "I'm in love with you, will you go out with me?". But the words that came out weren't the ones that his heart wanted to say. "Wh-what are you going to do after school is over?"

"A friend of my dad's is looking for a personal assistant at a government office. He took a liking to me since I was doing well in school and knew acupuncture, so he gave me an offer after school is done. I'll be going to a city closer to the capital."

"And you didn't tell us?!" Donney replied with a surprised manner.

"Hey! I was waiting to tell everyone else!"

"So that means you'll be going far away then right?" Donney asked in reply, changing the subject as his heart began to sink.

"It's a two day travel by carriage. So it's pretty far away" Chelsea responded, realizing that she'll be going to someplace far away, away from all her friends.

"At least you got that secure job you've always wanted right?" He toothily smiled with a light chuckle.

**ooo**

The depths of the school locker room were quiet and eerie as Chelsea descended the stairs into it. This used to be the lockers until the school had implemented newer ones in the halls. These were used back when the school was smaller, and thus, the lockers were bigger. Big enough for someone like Chelsea to hide in.

Hiding was what Chelsea did as she squeezed herself into the somewhat cramped locker, peeking through the small cracks in the metal door. Chelsea waited and waited until she heard footsteps echoing and wandering about until they stopped. The Of course, the locker room was large enough that Chelsea would not know where the Vice-principal and the girl name Anna would be, but it sounds echoed easily in the enclosed room.

Those footsteps were very light and soft, so Chelsea assumed that it was the girl Anna's footsteps. Soon following Anna's sounds as she stopped, heavier more clacky footsteps were heard as she assumed Vice-Principal Leanders was descending down.

"H-hello master..." Anna's nervous voice sounded.

"Good, you've learned from last time Anna" Leander said before a yelp was heard after the sound of a powerful slap, "But you still have a lot to learn young girl"

The girl was moaning from the hit, which almost caused Chelsea to burst out, but what held her back was the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back.

"Ahhh!" Anna was gasping and trying to conceal her screams.

"I can't have people sifting through my office and looking through my personal files. You saw the book didn't you?" Leander coldly spoke, "You saw it didn't you!?"

"I-I don't know...!" Anna petrifyingly spoke.

"BULLSHIT!" The Vice-Principal hollered out angrily, "I can't take any risks at this point if you know what's in that book! And as for the teacher who sent you, I'll take care of him myself after I take care of you"

Anna began to cry, sobbing as she tried begging for her life. Chelsea tensed up, waiting for Leander to do the deed. However, A sharp piercing sound was heard, and a delayed howl of pain came from Leander.

"W-who?!" Was Leanders final words as there was a dull thud, followed by Anna's shrill whimpering. Chelsea didn't know what was going on, and she was left to wonder what was going on as her imagination tried to use the sounds she heard to reconstruct an image.

"T-thank you!" Anna gagged a bit as hurried footsteps echoed throughout the locker room.

"_Did someone save her?"_ Chelsea wondered as her heart froze with the advent of another pair of footsteps being heard, becoming louder and louder until they stopped right in front of the locker she was in. Her heart was racing as she stopped her breathing to try to stay as quiet as possible, but that didn't work as the door of the locker flung open.

Chelsea squealed as she saw a hooded figure stand right before her. It was blocking the light, so she couldn't see who it was, but she stood there, trembling.

"I-I..." She was going to say before the figure pulled their hood down.

"What are you doing here Chelsea?" It was an elderly voice, it was Mister Tong. "Are you sticking your nose in things again?"

"Mister Tong..." Chelsea said, sighing with an intense relief as she began to relax. But she realized that Mister Tong was the one who killed Leander. "Wait, did you...?" She quickly made her way and peeked over the corner where Leander's corpse was. His arm was severed and there was a pool of blood that was getting larger and larger around it. Chelsea looked away in disgust as she turned to face Mister Tong again.

"Sorry about the mess" Mister Tong said, wiping a splatter of blood from his face. "Are you startled?"

Chelsea shook her head, "Only a little" she said, holding her hands behind her as she looked up at Mister Tong. "Are you a killer for hire? Mister Tong?"

The old mans face held a neutral expression as he planted a hand on Chelsea's shoulder. "Yes, yes I am. Now let's get out of here, and simmer down on some cake and coffee"

**ooo**

"Does this change the way you think of me Chelsea?" Mister Tong asked Chelsea, gently placing a plate of cake in front of her.

Chelsea stared at the cake for a moment, thinking about it. She had killed people, and she wasn't very surprised to find out that Mister Tong killed people also. It was more of relief that she felt rather than anything else. "Not really..."

"That's good to hear. Considering that I am your mentor." He responded, digging into his own cake.

"Is that why you've been teaching me all these ways to kill people?" Chelsea asked as she slowly nibbled on the chunks of cake she picked up with a fork.

"Partially" Mister Tong responded sipping from his mug of dark coffee. The mug had an amusing cat printed on it, and captioned above was the words _Enjoy It. _"But part of it was also safety."

"Huh" Chelsea wasn't too surprised at this revelation, rubbing the knuckles of her hand across her chin, "So you wanted me to follow in your footsteps?"

"Bingo!"

Mister Tongs upbeat response had Chelsea rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly, "But why me?"

A slight thud came from Mister Tong's mug as he placed it on the table. "You see Chelsea, you remind me when I was a kid. That's why I examined your hands when we first met. A born natural." He crossed his arms, contemplating on the times he spent in his younger days, "But you got a job offer somewhere else didn't you?"

When asked this, Chelsea said nothing and nodded rather sadly. The past two years spent with Mister Tong were indeed special to Chelsea.

"I see" He didn't seem to be too disappointed by this, "I figured as much. You are still a kid after all, might as well enjoy your youth while you can."

Those words didn't reach Chelsea because she was too occupied with the other voices that were ringing in her head. Without her realizing it, she sat there, staring blankly into nothing as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Chelsea? Chelsea, what's wrong?" Mister Tong asked as if he had said something wrong.

"Mister Tong... I hear voices..." Chelsea's hands slowly came up, clasping tightly onto her ears.

This startled Mister Tong as he expressed his realization of making a mistake, "Oh no... what have I done?"He stood up quickly, and stormed straight to his small office without saying anything else to Chelsea. She didn't notice, however, it was only until Mister Tong came back that she realized that he had went to fetch something.

"I'm so sorry Chelsea, for putting this burden onto you" Mister Tong apologized as he lightly pulled Chelsea's headband off her head. She looked up, and saw him inserting the ends of her headband into these rounded headphones. After he put both on, he turned it around and around to observe it, and pulled them apart to fit over Chelsea's head. "Here, these are for you. They're headphones designed for something like this. I used to suffer from the same thing, so I wore these for a while."

Before actually giving them a try, Chelsea had to ask, "How do I hear with them on?"

"Oh don't worry about that" Mister Tong let go to let the headphones hug Chelsea's ears, "You can still hear everything around you, nice and clear. Right?"

He was indeed right. Every word that Mister Tong had said Chelsea could hear as if she wasn't wearing these headphones. The voices were silenced when she felt the soft padding cover her ears. To test it out, Chelsea pulled them slightly off, and heard them whisper. Then on and nothing, then off again.

Mister Tong sat back down, "I'm terribly sorry Chelsea. I should have known that this was going to happen eventually." A sorrowful expression came across Mister Tongs face as he glanced at his fork.

"How do you do it Mister Tong?" Chelsea abruptly asked amidst her silent treatment.

"How do I do what?"

"Forget. How do all the things you've done, how do you wash them away?"

"You don't. You just learn to live with it" Mister Tong began, leaning forward to give Chelsea an important piece of advice. "When I was younger, I asked my old master: How do you do, what you do? And he told me in reply. We all have to decide for ourselves, how much sin we can live with." The clank of the fork was heard as he cut through his cake. "The question now, is how much sin are you willing to live with Chelsea?"

Chelsea couldn't really comprehend the question he was asking, neither could she answer except with an honest, "I don't know"

Her mentor chuckled lightly as he chewed on his cake. "Don't worry about it Chelsea. You'll figure it out one day, when you're more mature, and when you've understood the world and its current situation better. But for now, just go out and enjoy life for now. Maybe some day, I'll take you on a trip out to the Western Kingdoms and visit my old home. There are these mountain ranges that house a small village of monks. Is quiet and peaceful there. That was were I learned to stop the voices, and maybe when the time comes, I can show you some ways too."

It was quiet again between Chelsea and Mister Tong, and out of nowhere, she heard her name being called. The misconception was that her newly attained headphones were faulty, but Mister Tong heard them too as he peeked through the curtain. Chelsea came over to see who it was, and to her no surprise, it was Donney waving up at the window. With him, Suzan, Miles, Remy, and Linda were all waiting by his said.

"Hey Chelsea! Let's go somewhere! The entire gang is here!" Donney called out.

Mister Tong smiled at her, "Graduation is in six months isn't it? Go on, your friends are waiting."

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter seems really sloppy, but I'm honestly on the block right now when it comes to story content. I suppose it went alright. We learn quite a few things about Chelsea now, especially why she wears headphones! She's a Zank 2.0 I guess. Anyways, I'm going to be time skipping next chapter, and we'll pick up where we left off in the prologue.**

**Anyways, please review and stuffs! I would really appreciate it!**

**P.S. To that guest reviewer who always says "Keep up the great work!" I really appreciate you reviewing, but saying the same tidbits every time isn't the most helpful thing in the world. Thanks though.**


	7. Days Gone Past

**Chapter 6 – Days Gone Past**

_**Chelsea: **Hey Natala, you ever wonder why the Empire is in such a state that it is now?_

_**Natala:** I try not to think about things like that Chelse, but I can't help but ask why._

_**Chelsea: **It's because no one's holding us back from our desires._

_**Natala:** Is that an indirect way of calling me lazy? Since you're implying that soldiers like me aren't doing enough to regulate people._

_**Chelsea: **Of course not silly, if I wanted to call you lazy, I would have just said so! _

_**Natala:** Oh, that's sooo reassuring Chelse._

_**Chelsea: **But still. It seems like the chains that are holding back people's desires have been long broken._

It must have been half a year after school had finished for Chelsea. As recognition for her excelling in her studies, she earned a secure spot as an assistant to a viceroy of a well sized plot of land on the eastern side of the Empire, far away from her hometown. During the entire trip there, she had eagerly dreamt about her comfortable future, how she would marry a nice man and get into a well off family. Then spend the rest of her days comfortably. It was a certainly a dream for her, something she wanted to come true.

That all changed, however, during the first few days she was there. Those dreams faded into nightmares that haunted her.

"So you're the girl. You look a lot younger than I thought" The Viceroy was a chubby man, and almost always didn't wear a shirt, and instead whore a shoul with a hood. Albeit that it was very arid in the lands surrounding, it wasn't scorching hot.

She took note of this at first. Chelsea herself was wearing very neat attire. A puffy sleeved white blouse and a black vest was accompanied by a long white skirt.

"I'm sorry to have misled you Viceroy Hammel" Chelsea responded as she folded her hands behind her back and stood elegantly.

"Bah, no matter. You're just my assistant, nothing more than that." Hammel replied as his cheek bounced and rested on his fist. "Your name is Chelsea correct?"

"Yes"

"Well then, you seem adequate enough for me." He held his hand up and whisked it away, "Servants, show this girl to her room. Get settled in, and I will call for you in the morning."

Before Chelsea followed the servants steed, she asked, "Might I inquire as to what we are doing in the morning?" Her curiosity masked her excitement at getting adjusted to her new job.

"Hunting" He simply replied as a somewhat dark grin crept upon his face.

Chelsea didn't really know how to respond since it was simply hunting. Not paying it too much thought, she followed the servant to her room. All her belongings had already been brought, it was just a matter of her unpacking it all. Her mind was still flooded with the dreams of easy living and lack of worries. However, the next morning proved to horrify her to a degree in which she had never experienced before.

This hunting trip wasn't hunting for animals, well, not what Chelsea considered animals. They were hunting people. They might have been animals in the eyes of the Viceroy and his court, but to Chelsea, this was more than just cruel, it was inhumane.

She sat there on her horse, her eyes burning with horror as people were screaming and running, nude and dirty like pigs in a sty. He and his court would chase them down on their horses and impale them with swords. When these people are down, bleeding and dying, they are then hacked to mangled pieces of flesh and hung up on swords like fresh kill.

This nearly made Chelsea throw up at first as she tried divert her gaze without being noticed.

"Hey lackey!" Viscout Hammel called out as he held a sword up, "Do you want to have a hand in this?"

She hastily shook her head, "I-I'm f-fine thank you!"

The Viscount actually laughed, "Ahahahaha! Just look at your expression" He leered holding a severed head towards her, "Don't worry girl, you'll get used to this sight real quick."

Chelsea swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat as her nausea continued to bite at her stomach. "_This was a mistake"_

**ooo**

A month passed, it was indeed true. Chelsea quickly got used to these hunts and mindless slaughter. It was painful to watch at first, almost too painful for her to bear. But eventually, she just stopped feeling their pain and simply watched. She entered a state of nihility, where her soul just felt nothing. She couldn't quit this job. She was under contract. Even trying to leave would result in her being jailed and possibly executed for "desertion" as the Viceroy would call it. Numerous times she had thought about killing the Viceroy, but it wouldn't work. He had personal guards with him all the time, so she couldn't think of any scenario in which she could get out unscathed.

Chelsea was tossing and turning around in her bed. It had been a while since the voices in her head were whispering to her, but tonight was the exception. Getting up into a sitting position on her bed, Chelsea clasped her headphones over her ears and sighed. Her mind was groggy from being half asleep. "Maybe a walk will calm me down..." Saying to herself.

"_What could one girl like me do?"_ She wondered to herself, tightly wrapping a sweater around herself. The sick season was coming, and Chelsea was not immune. The symptoms of the flu had been showing up in recent days. Coughing, sore throat, headaches and fatigue.

Despite being in a warm area, it was despicably cold in the winter and at night. While pondering about her current situation, she began to think about her friends and family back home. "_Everyone..._" All the acts she did back then still haunted her, and with this, the feeling of uselessness in the shadow of injustice began to kill her on the inside. It was as if it were some cruel joke from the Viceroy. His intentions of killing Chelsea on the inside were successful.

She wondered how everyone was doing without her. After school ended, they all went their separate ways, and Chelsea didn't know how they were doing. She wrote back to her parents, and they didn't know either. The only thing she could do now was just hope.

Amidst this monologue that was going on in Chelsea's head, she snapped back into reality and suddenly realized that she was lost. Apparently, being half sleep led her into unfamiliar parts of town. The central portion of the city where the upper class and palace were located resided on a plateau while roads led to the outer parts of town down below. It was still in the more wealthy portions of town, but just a place she's never seen before.

"Where..." Chelsea began to say before she sneezed. "_Maybe I should have bulked up some more..."_ The thin sweater she wore didn't protect her from the blistering cold wind as her shins shivered. Her head was throbbing and her body felt sore. Combined with a lack of sleep, she felt the fever get worse and worse while trying to wander through town to familiar parts.

No good. It was early morning, no one was around. Knocking on doors was out of the question considering the townsfolk's paranoia from the Viceroy.

After a little while longer, she saw a bleak figure through the thick mist of the morning times. She tried to raise her hand and call out, but she was too tired. It was a whole lot of effort even trying to walk.

**ooo**

"_I wonder what this person is doing out this early in the morning"_ Natala thought to himself as he watched the figure in the mist slowly, but surely approach him as he did it. "_Sure seems suspicious enough."_ Doing routine patrols this early in the morning was normal for Natala, but seeing someone alone this early was something uncommon to him. He looked away for a second to feel his grumbling stomach, "_Breakfast is a first when I get back"_ he painstakingly said to himself, quickly glancing back to his left. To his surprise the figure was gone.

"I knew something was up!" Saying to himself while dashing over to where he saw it last.

Step by step, his suspicion became concern as he saw a girl lying on the ground. "H-hey! Are you alright?" Taking a knee, Natala glanced over her, flipping her over and holding her head up with one hand. The first thing he noticed was her headphones, it was such a unique accessory that it distracted him for a moment from her facial appearance. When he did glance at her face, he stared for a moment. In his eyes, she was beautiful. Some might have called it love at first sight, but Natala held it back.

She was still breathing, he could see her breath through the cold air.

"Is she sick?" Natala murmured, holding the back of his hand towards her cheek. He hesitated for a moment, but pressed lightly. Fuming hot against his cold skin.

"Aw crap, what do I do?" Natala asked himself, wrapping his elbow underneath her knees and held her across the back. He was holding a cute girl in his hands, and if anyone saw him like this they would get the wrong message.

Without any clear solutions, Natala took her back to his living quarters at the barracks, which was a short haul away. Checking his corners, he pounced towards his door and quickly opened it. After tucking the girl into his bed, he added some wood to make the fire bigger and warmed himself up a bit. After a while, he found himself staring at the girl. "_She's so... cute..."_ He couldn't help but think like that.

"C'mon Natala!" He slapped himself out of this lovey dovey state, standing up to pour a cup of coffee for himself. The piping hot liquid sent Natala's arms shivering with delight and he looked over the girl that was sleeping in his bed. Without thinking about it, he reached forward with his hand to feel her pink cheeks with the back of his fingers. As he got closer, however; the girls eyes slowly opened.

"_Yikes!"_ Natala said to himself as he retracted his hand quickly.

She blinked for a few moments before shooting up. "W-where am I?!" It seemed that she was in a fit of panic.

"Whoa whoa there. Calm down now. You're in the barracks of the towns guard." Natala held his hands out to try to calm her, "You were out cold on the street. It would be pretty bad for a guard like me to let you freeze to death. So I took you here."

"O-oh..." The girl said rubbing her temples.

"You really shouldn't have been wandering the streets this early in the morning, especially if you're sick like that"

The girl's eyebrows curved up slightly, "I know... It's just, I couldn't sleep. So I decided to go out for a walk" As she said this, a few shrill coughs came out.

Natala stood up to pour the girl some coffee, "Yea well, you're lucky I was out on patrol. Here..." He held a mug of coffee towards her.

"T-thank you" The girl timidly replied, blowing quietly to cool down the hot brown liquid a bit.

"What's your name by the way?"

"Chelsea" The girl replied.

"The names Natala. Pleased to make your acquaintance Chelsea."

**ooo**

"Honestly Natala, you had to go and eat the last slice of pie?" Chelsea's somewhat cross voice lectured as Natala laid there on the soft grass leisurely.

She was towering over him, one of the few times that she had the opportunity to do that. If they stood back to back, Natala would tower about a head over her. "You know I was saving that last slice for later right?"

"Don't you already have your fair share of sweets?" Natala wittingly noted as he pointed to the lollipop in her mouth.

Chelsea wasn't too amused as she plopped down onto the grass next to him. "Not funny"

"Not supposed to be funny" Natala snickered.

"Yea right" A sarcastic comment came from Chelsea as she grinned alongside him.

It was nearing the end of summer, and Natala and Chelsea were trying to enjoy the last days of the temperate weather for as long as possible. To be frank, Natala was Chelsea's only friend and vice versa. The members of the Viceroy's court were their own circle of accomplices, and Chelsea felt like she had no place in there. Natala felt out of place amongst his co-guards in the military. So often times she and Natal would hang out and explore the city and it's surrounding lands.

Natala, at first, acted extremely strange around Chelsea. Most likely because of his crush on her, but as she got to know him more, he wasn't so strange after all. Natala was a polite man, about two years younger than Chelsea. Behind his polite facade was a playful and caring boy that didn't hesitate to put use himself to protect those he cares about.

Not only that, though, Natala is very observant. Especially when it came to people. That is the reason why Natala is so good with remembering faces and people.

Despite having Natala though, Chelsea dearly missed her family and friends back home. Coupled with the constant stench of death she witnessed with the Viceroy, there was a void that was growing larger and larger in her soul. The only person that kept her from slipping was Natala.

"H-hey Natala?" Chelsea broke the silence as she embarked on a serious question that she wanted to get out.

Leisurely responding, Natala asked, "What?" He was expecting her to say something joking, or even better yet, confess her love for him. Natala noticed a few signs, but he wasn't for sure that it was true that Chelsea held the same feelings he held for her. Sometimes he would ask himself to just come clean and tell her, but always when he tried to do it, something held him back. Some part of him told him that there was still something missing, he didn't know what, but there was something missing.

"Have you killed people before?" When he looked at Chelsea's face, it wasn't a smile out of a joke, or a tease, it was a bittersweet and sullen closing of lips.

The question was so sudden and out of the blue that in h is mind, he was stopped short of any response. There was no point in keeping a secret that he has killed people from Chelsea. He was in the military after all. It was expected of him. After blinking for a few moments, he managed to reply, "Yes I have."

"Do you ever... feel guilty?" She asked shooting a glance at him.

Natala honestly was rather surprised. Naturally as a guard he would have had to put people down in the past, but feeling guilty about it never occurred to him. "I actually don't."

Chelsea's eyes sparked up in surprise for a moment before sulling back down, "You don't...?"

He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what? Deal with it?" Natala assumed with a curved eyebrow. It then curved downward and furrowed, "I guess I just... don't think about it really. Or rather, I just feel like, if you're going to end someones life, it might as well be you getting your hands dirty rather than someone else. What's done is done. No point in dawdling in the past. But it kind of goes beyond that really. I guess it's just that my reasons for doing it are genuine. To serve my country to the best I can, even if it means killing. Yea that's it, if your reasons are truly what you believe in, then nothing should make you regret it."

Natala sort of laugh a little bit after that part, making a remark about himself saying how uncool that sounded, but Chelsea simply giggled as he did it. "Why are you asking me something like this anyway?"

"Just curious, fufufu" Chelsea replied, flopping backward onto the grass as a content look on her face suddenly arose. "Being a guard seems tough, doesn't it?"

Natala laid on his back next to Chelsea as they both stared up at the blue sky, "All for country and people Chelsea. It's the least I can do"

He took note of Chelsea's strange behavior. This content that she was displaying, it was masking something. She was hurting inside, badly. Natala wanted to help, but it must have been something she kept deep inside her heart.

**ooo**

The night was deep and quiet, eerily quiet. Chelsea woke up suddenly, for some strange reason. The voices, they were silent. There was nothing except the silence of the castle and the beating of her own heart. Actually, it wasn't completely quiet. One voice whispered to her, but unlike the other voices, this one was gentle and soothing.

_Follow your heart_

Chelsea heard this, and as if she were in some sort of trance, she got out of bed, picked up a lantern and walked out of her room. It was calling her somewhere; she didn't question it, and simply followed. Before realizing it, she was led to the treasure room of the castle. This was the first time she had been to it. She had the key to the room, but never really found a reason to go down this deep into the castle cellar.

Sliding the key inside the lock, she slowly and quietly opened the door and felt the presence get stronger and stronger. Her attention was quickly drawn to a kit that was in a glass container. The presence was radiating from it, and the voice spoke up again.

_This is Gaea Foundation..._

It was explaining the "Imperial Arms" in her ears as she slowly approached it.

_Use this to strike your enemies when they least expect it_

With that, Chelsea raised her hand to touch the glass container. The presence was so strong that it began to flow inside her, sending chills down her spine. She began to smile, realizing the immense power that had just been bestowed upon her. "With this!"

_That who hears them talk, may they use this power to evade their gaze and walk away from the shadows of their past. _

_**ooo**_

"_This feeling...is it... my soul being revived?" _The cold rain was drenching Chelsea as she stood there in the middle of the garden of the estate. Before her was the body of Viceroy Hammel, blood spurting out of the neck of his severed head. She had used her newly found power to lure the Viceroy from his guards and out as one of his associates and strike when he least expected it.

There was a splatter of blood on her face as a smile crept across. She looked down at the sword she was holding, "I never realized how little force this required..."

"_I caused reform in the world...Justice... Justice has been served!"_ It was so invigorating, this feeling, that Chelsea began to laugh. "I will believe in my reasons!" She quoted Natala gleefully and relieved. Raising her hand, she caught the falling raindrops that soothed her shaking body. "_It was all because of this power, the ability of this, Gaea Transformation!"_

**ooo**

"Hey Natala! C'mon! Let's get a move on!" One of Natala's comrades called out impatiently.

"A-alright hold on! Let me just drop something off first" Natala sounded quite worried. Today was the day he would leave for the capital for some sort of special recruitment operation. It was a sudden call, but Natala had no choice but to go. He didn't know how long he would be gone, so he resoluted that right now was the time to confess to Chelsea, but Chelsea was nowhere to be found. He searched everywhere, and asked the servants of the castle. No one had seen her. "Where is she?" There was no luck, and eventually, Natala gave up. The convoy wouldn't wait for him any longer, so he had to leave. But before he left, he wrote a letter to Chelsea and left it at her front door.

With troubled eyes and a sunken heart, he said to himself, departing from Chelsea's door, "Good bye Chelsea."

_Dear Chelsea,_

_ You might be wondering why I'm writing this to you, but it's because I have to leave. The military is calling me back to the capital for some squad recruitment operation. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but they called us on such short notice that I have to leave immediately. I tried searching for you, to tell you goodbye. But you were nowhere to be found, and trust me, I tried looking for you. I don't blame you though. I blame myself, for not being able to tell you sooner. You see Chelsea, the thing is, I'm in love with you. Ever since that day we met, I was in love with you. You must be amazed at how long I kept it to myself all this time. Frankly, I'm amazed at myself for how long I kept it in, but I was such an idiot for doing that. I will return some day, and when that day comes, I'll definitely not make the same mistake again. Good bye Chelsea, I hope to see you again soon._

_Sincerely, Natala_

"You f-fool!" Chelsea was trembling, her hands crushing the sides of the letter out of frustration. She was crying. All that invigoration and glee she felt went down the drain as she sat there at her desk, crying and moping. All she could think about right now was how idiotic she was. "I loved you too..."

Her fist was hurting from slamming it on the wall so hard. "Idiot! I'm such an idiot..." Natala must have left while she was assassinating the Viceroy.

Chelsea was in love with Natala as well, but just like him, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Everything was going so well. The Viceroy was dead so she and the people of the town would no longer suffer from his torment. She thought it would be perfect to spend the rest of her days with Natala, but everything changed just like that.

He kept her dream alive in a pool of despair and sadness. He was her only beacon in this foreign land that she was in. That was why she fell in love with him.

"And here I am, alone in the world again..." Chelsea murmured to herself, not wiping the tears from her face, but reaching out towards the moon shining through her window.

"We'll meet again Natala. I'm sure of it"

**ooo**

"_What is wrong Chelsea?" The new Viceroy of the town asked Chelsea over eating dinner. "You haven't even touched your food. The cook works hard for it you know"_

_Chelsea simply apologized, "I'm sorry Viceroy, I'm just not feeling too well today" She picked at her food, eating small bits and pieces._

"_Is there something going on? The Viceroy asked, concerned in tone. He was much kinder than Hammel. He enjoyed the happiness of the people above his own interests, and governed the town free from corruption and indulgence. He made the people feel comfortable, and he made Chelsea feel comfortable._

"_It's nothing. I'm just a little lonely"_

"_Ah, you miss your family and friends don't you?" He asked wiping his mouth with a napkin. "How about you go home for a while? You haven't been back for almost a year now I believe."_

"_W-what?" Chelsea abruptly asked with surprise, "Can I do that? Isn't it against my contract?"_

_The Viceroy simple laughed in reply, "What's the contract to say about you not being able to return home for a little bit? It's all at the consent of the person you made the contract with. And now I'm saying go home and visit your family!"_

_Chelsea was rather speechless, trying to smile out of gladness, "Viceroy... I-I"_

"_No need to thank me." The Viceroy smiled in reply, "I am a servant to my people. Not the other way around. Take some time off, it will do you good. And don't worry about the travel fare, I will cover that for you"_

"Viceroy... you are so kind..." Chelsea said as she dropped to her knees, her eyes dilating from what horrifying scene was before her. "But not even all the kind deeds in the world will make up for whoever did this..."

The town, her home. She had just arrived hoping to see the faces of her family and friends again, but all she got was ashes. Everything was blackened and charred, burnt to a crisp. Dead plants that tried to grow in this harsh environment littered the streets of her youth as the gagging smell of ash and smoke still lingered in the area.

All this time, Chelsea's mind was blank, only trying to search for someone, anyone. She ran, and ran, her footsteps echoing through the streets that once thrived with townsfolk. She ran until she was in front of her home. A nice sized home, a facade that was once colored white and blue, now dilapidated and covered with black. The door was burnt down, and only debris of the crumbling home was seen in her home. The furniture she remembered sitting on and using were nothing but black dust now. Nothing was spared, and lying there on the ground of her kitchen, were two skeletons. They were painted black and appeared to be holding hands.  
"Mom... Dad..." Chelsea could hardly contain her emotions anymore as she dropped to her knees once more, wailing out as loud as she could. It was too much for her to bear. "W-why...!? Why me...?! Is this punishment ?! Living here in this hell while everyone else goes to paradise?" She screeched out. The tears kept flowing as she ran out of her house, unable to bear the sight anymore. Like that, she unconsciously fled towards Mister Tong's clinic. It, just like all the other buildings, were burnt to a crisp. She didn't bother going inside, because she knew that Mister Tong suffered the same fate as everyone else.

The grocery store was the same way, and so was the school. Chelsea had thought that her soul was saved, but in a way, it was just as dead as it ever was. Maybe, even more so than it was before. Mindlessly and aimlessly walking around, Chelsea's eyes were drained of all life. She stopped at the town square, where a single sign was posted.

_This town has been suspected of supporting the Revolutionary Army. By decree of the King and his cabinet, this town and its inhabitants are hereby sentenced to death for treason against the crown._

"_Revolutionary Army..."_ Chelsea had heard rumors of an army that was being raised to fight the corrupt government, but she never realized that it's influence had reached so far. She stood there, staring at the sign, not keeping track of time until she heard multiple pairs of footsteps.

"Who's there?" Chelsea questioned, quickly looking around herself and scanning the area. Just then, a small figure emerged from nearby ruins. A small boy, rubbing his arm.

That was a face Chelsea recognized, "Al?! Al!" It was Al, one of the kids that Miles was sheltering.

"Chelsea...?" The young boy was speechless, "Hey guys it's Chelsea!" Just as he said that, a little bit less than half a dozen kids emerged from their hiding spots.

"Al what happened? Tell me what just happened here?!" Chelsea desperately asked. As much as she was relieved to see survivors, she wanted answers.

Al hesitated for a moment, trying to get his words in order. It seemed that he, like the rest of the kids, have been living in terrible conditions with nowhere to go. "These group of guys, they looked like they were from the military. They came and started fires that wouldn't go out even if you put water on it. Everyone was dying, running around as the flames kept burning them alive. It looked so painful." A sullen look was on Al's face, and saddened faces were on the other kids faces as well.

"What about Miles, and the other kids?"

Al simply shook his head, "Miles went missing before that. I don't know where he is. But the other kids, they tried to help put out the flames, but they suffered the same fate as the rest of the townsfolk. But for us, we were too scared. So we ran towards the river and hid in the bushes there. When we felt like we waited long enough, we came back to see this." At this point, one of the girls began to cry. It was indeed appropriate to mourn at this point as Chelsea herself also broken down into tears.

**ooo**

Chelsea decided that her visit home should be cut short. There was nothing here for her anymore, but there was also nothing for her back east. So where would she go now? Chelsea took a glance at Gaea Transformation that was sitting on the back of her wagon.

"Chelsea wait!" The voice of Al sounded as he and the other remaining kids approached her. "Where are you going?"

She thought about it for a second, remembering the words on the sign posted at the center of the former town. "I'm going to join the Revolutionary Army"

It looked as if the kids had packed up their belongings since they all had knapsacks and such, "Take us with you! Please!"

Chelsea nearly refused, but then looked at town and realized that living anywhere was better than living in a graveyard of ashes and charred skeletons. She knew that the kids were adamant in following her, so she had no choice but to let them on board. "Are you kids sure?"

"I won't... I won't stop at anything until I find out who did this!" Al angrily cried out, venting his frustration by swiping his fist through the air. "I... I won't..." But that frustration eventually turned into sadness followed by tears.

It was silent except for Al's sobbing as Chelsea softly rubbed his hair. Tears were forming in her eyes, "You and I alike" She said, scooting over so that the children could board her wagon. "I won't stop at anything either."

As soon as everyone was set to go, she embarked onward. "_No point in dawdling over the past"_ Natala's voice sounded in her head, reminding her to move on. With one last glance at her home, she looked forward, with tears gleaming from her eyes.

**ooo**

There was a pain radiating from her right arm, and another pain coming from her side. "_That's right..._" For a moment there, Chelsea had founded herself seeing the days gone past. For a moment, she had forgotten what situation she was in, and reminded herself of her younger days. But nothing she could do would change those days, the days of her past. She could only make her future, but a future would never come if she died today.

"Natala..." She whispered, staring up at him as his eyes stared into hers. His spear was raised, and the bloody stump that was her arm was raised in return, as if she were trying to caress his face. The voices in her head stopped momentarily as Chelsea continued to stare at Natala.

"_Keep living"_ A single voice said. It was Natala's. The crazed Natala that was before her paused a moment, and for a second, she saw pain in his eyes. He was fighting; he was resisting Kurome's influence as best he could to buy Chelsea enough time, but was it enough?

"Natala!" Chelsea cried out, shattering the perfume bottle that was in her hand onto the ground. Just like that, a massive screen of smoke had emerged that engulfed the surrounding area. But that didn't stop Natala as Yatsufusa's took control of him again.

A sharp piercing sound was heard, followed by the sound of splattering blood. As the smoke cleared, Natala was seen, standing over the limp body of Chelsea. In his hand, being held by her orange-brown hair, was Chelsea's head. Only the sound of blood spilling from her neck was heard.

_Drip... drip... drip..._

**A/N: Well, here's another chapter. I kinda of sped through this due to a lack of being able to come up with significant events to write about, so I just created some time skipped scenes in order to get the idea across. Anyways, what will happen next? You gotta keep reading to find out! :P  
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	8. Tears of Pain

**Chapter 7 –Tears of Pain**

**Chelsea: **_Did you ever think, for once, that the Empire is only using you? Donny?!_

**Donney: **_Quiet! Don't try to fill my head with lies Chelsea!_

**Chelsea: **_Do you know what the Empire did to the town?_

**Donney: **_What town? What are you talking about?_

**Chelsea: **_Our home, Donney..._

"I don't like this..." It was Donney. His reluctant voice spoke from up above in the trees.

"What you like doesn't cut into it. If Boss Nejenda wants us to stay on the perimeter, then we do so Donney." Lubbock's somewhat casual tone sounded from the ground as he waved up at Donney. "Now c'mon, the fights just about wrapped up. Didn't Chelsea say she would take care of Kurome?"

"I know, she did. But I'm still worried"

"Aww now Donney, isn't she just as experienced as Akame? She'll be fine!" Lubbock replied as Donney's feet stomped on the ground from his descent.

"It's not that..." Donney replied coldly, staring dead straight into Lubbocks eyes.

"Then what..."

Donney pulled down his hood as he propped his crossbow on his shoulder. "Kurome dodged a bullet from Mein and destroyed a homing bolt from me. And..."

"And what?"

He hesitated for a moment, "As much as I hate to admit it. But Mein is a better sniper than me, so if Kurome dodged a a bullet from both of us, then somethings terribly wrong."

Lubbocks eyes widened as Donne spoke that, "So you're saying..."

"I'm saying that Chelsea may be in grave danger. Kurome's got a lot more up her sleeve. I can feel it" Donney interrupted, his eyes were worried and stressed. Lubbock could tell. "Go back to base and inform the others. I'll stay here and try to keep watch on Chelsea."

Lubbock nodded in understanding, and before he began to dart off, he turned around with a cheeky grin on his face. "Hey Donney! You love her don't you?"

"Y-you just noticed that now?" He replied, slightly blushing and mildly agitated.

Lubbock began to laugh, "No, I noticed alooong time ago!" And as he began to run off, he hollered out, "Don't get killed alright?"

"Like usual!" Donney replied, shaking his head at Lubbock's attempt to blatantly embarrass him, which partially worked. "I just hope I can say the same about Chelsea" His worried voice whispered under his breath as he pulled the hood of his jacket over him and darted off.

**ooo**

"_Assassination complete" Chelsea sighed with relief as she pulled the needle out of her victims neck. "Job well done Chelsea, job well done!" A congratulation from herself was accompanied with a quick lollipop to the mouth as she reached into the pockets of the dead next to her. Her objective was to get a certain document to gain intel on illegal operations undergoing in the Empire. _

_However, she paused for a moment. "I feel like someone's...watching me...?" As an assassin and a master of deception, her killing intent caused her to feel the killing intent of others around her, and for the moment, it was telling her that someone was watching her. But who? Chelsea quickly looked around the room for anything suspicious, but nothing, at least until she glanced at the window. Something was staring at her alright. An eagle, it's sharp eyes staring intently at hers. For a split second she thought it was simply just an eagle, but she then gasped and realized that it was no ordinary eagle. "That stare!" Moving as fast as she could, she reached for Gaea Transformation to quickly disguise herself, but it was too late. _

_Before she could do anything, she felt a sharp pain insert itself into her right hand, and when she tried to move it in reaction to the pain, she found that it was pinned to the wall by a crossbow bolt._

"_Wh-...?!" she asked herself, quickly reaching for her needles to try to catch her captor by surprise. _

"_No sudden movements, or I'll shoot" A voice said from behind her as she turned slightly to see a crossbow being pointed at her. "Now take off the hood so I can see your face." _

_Chelsea was rather reluctant, but it was either do or die, and she chose do. Slowly, she used her free hand to pull down her hood and to look up at her apprehender._

_The hooded figure lowered their crossbow slightly, "Chelsea...?" They immediately recognized the butterfly headband she wore. "Chelsea!"_

_She was surprised for a moment before the figure lowered their hood._

"_It's me Donney!" It was indeed Donney as Chelsea's face lit up with surprise. _

"_D-Donney?!" She asked with keen surprise. After all these years of thinking he was dead, alongside the rest of her friends, this hit her in the head with the force of a boulder._

_Donney, however, as surprised as he was to see her, was even more surprised to realize that she was with the Revolutionary Army. "You're with the Revolutionary Army aren't you?" he asked coldly as he re-raised his crossbow towards her head. _

"_D-Donny wait! You don't realize what's going on here!" She pleaded in reply, not knowing what to do in a situation like this where she was pinned to a wall with a crossbow to her head._

"_I certainly do! Any enemy of the Empire is an enemy of mine, even if she's a childhood friend." Donney resolved without hesitation before Chelsea cried out. _

"_You don't know what happened do you?!" She asked, starting to feel her emotions go out of control._

_Donney inquired, honestly not knowing what she was referring to, "What Chelsea?"_

_Chelsea stared at him with sorrowful eyes, "The town, our home, it's gone...doused in flames and ashes." _

"_Home..." Donney was silent for a moment afterward as his mouth slid open slightly, blinking a few times. He was thinking, and something clicked inside him as he pulled his crossbow up. It was clear he was distressed mentally, but the reasons behind it were unclear._

"_I-If what you say is true Chelsea, then show me..." He muttered, helping Chelsea carefully and cautiously. He wasn't sure whether or not this would be a trap, but part of him trusted Chelsea, and he decided to rely on that part of him. _

_What she showed him, was literally nothing but ashes. Donney was on his knees, his eyes tearing up from what he confirmed was true. "T...Th...They lied... to me..." _

"_Now do you believe me...?" Chelsea asked sadly as Donney stood up. _

"_I...I..." Donney saw his own tears drop onto the hands he was staring down at, "Mom... dad...I, I couldn't even say goodbye. These hands of mine... they helped serve this Empire I thought was so great to serve. But instead... not only do they kill my family and friends, and destroy my home, but they also make me comrades with the one who did it...? Bols... you're such a genuine man... It's such a shame..." Donney rambled underneath his breath as he began to sob. _

"_All these years, I thought you were dead... Donney." Chelsea held his shoulder tightly, fighting back the tears herself, "Donney, join us...Nobody should deserve this fate."_

_Donney began to cry even harder as he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Chelsea tightly. "I don't want to lose anyone anymore!" It was so bittersweet, to be in Chelsea's arms as they stood at the grave of their families and friends. But yet, in this moment, Donney could still not gain the courage to say those simple words._

"_I love you"_

**ooo**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Those words that he never spoke would never reach Chelsea. Donney stood there as he watched in horror. His vantage point over a cliff had given him a clear view of what just happened. Off in the distance, there stood Natala, with Chelsea's head dangling from her hair. Her severed neck was showering the flowers in a dark crimson. He could see it all. His heightened vision kept him at a distance whilst keeping a clear and horrifying eye of the scene before him. The crimson read puddle was draining endlessly into a red lake from Chelsea's neck. "Ch-Chelsea..." Donney murmured as his mind simply broke. "CHELSEA!" he hollered out in sorrow and anger, turning away and running. He ran and ran without caring where he went. Nothing mattered to him anymore seemingly. Chelsea was dead. He was an assassin; he had to accept things like this. But for some reason, he couldn't accept this, he just couldn't.

Donney tried to keep a calm mind by fighting off the tears, and as he ran through the forest for no reason, he stopped to catch his breath.

"Viera!" He called out amidst trying to catch his breath. Viera was his Imperial Arms. An organism type Imperial Arms that took the form of an eagle which provided Donney with enhanced eyesight and the ability to see what she sees. This made Donney the ideal scout whilst staying far away from enemy lines while at the same time gathering valuable information.

"Viera?" He called out again, wondering what she was doing. He looked towards the sky to see Viera hovering over a particular spot not too far away.

"_Something of interest to you Donney"_ Her voice rang in his mind.

"What do you mean...?" Donney asked in return as he looked to the ground. What he saw was a splotch of blood. "Blood?" There were no danger beasts this close to the capital, so it couldn't have been a danger beast hunting. It was human blood, judging from the appearance, and from what Donney could make out of it. The only way to find out for sure was to taste it. Donney figured as he knelt down to dab his fingers with it. Human blood had a certain metallic taste to it usually.

"Sweet...?" Donney's eyes shot open, realizing who's blood it was. The blood tasted sweet, and the only person whom he's tasted sweet blood from was Chelsea. Due to her high lollipop intake, her blood sugar levels were quite high. He found this out when Chelsea had accidentally poisoned herself by pricking herself with a toxic needle back when they recently joined the Revolutioanry Army. He had to suck the toxins out, inadvertently tasting her blood in the process. "Chelsea...?!" His reaction was desperate as he ran towards the spot that Viera was circling over.

"_Please tell me..."_ He said to himself, racing through the trees as fast as he could, "_Please tell me that..._Chelsea!" Part of him expected the worst, but he still had a glimmer of hope. Weaving through the trees, he skipped through the tree roots and stopped when he saw what was of interest.

There she was, sitting against a tree bleeding out. Streaks of blood were trickling down her chin. Chelsea glanced at him out of fear at first, but then she herself was quite puzzled and surprised to see Donney coming over to help her.

"_Told you, something of interest"_ Viera said again, landing on a branch near Chelsea.

"Chelsea! Thank the gods you're alive!" Donney exclaimed with the most relieved expression known to him. Her eyes were distressed, and he could tell she was extremely frightened. He quickly knelt down over to calm her down by pressing his forehead on hers. "I'm right her Chelsea! I'm right here..." Moments ago he was cursing the world for the death of Chelsea. Now he was praying to the world not to take her away again.

"D-Donney... I..." Chelsea responded weakly, holding up the bleeding stump that was her arm. Donney gasped slightly, but understood what she required at the moment, medical attention.

"Don't speak. You're going into shock." He hushed, ripping a large piece of cloth from his clothing and wrapping it around Chelsea's severed arm. Using his belt, he wrapped the stump tightly over the cloth to apply pressure to prevent blood flow out of the body in the form of a tourniquet.

"Here... too..." She whispered moving her hand from the wound that was bleeding out from the side of her stomach. The bullet had gone clean through, which was a good thing, as no formal surgery would be required to remove a dislodge bullet.

As Donney was busy patching Chelsea up, they waited for a while for Chelsea to calm down. No immediate danger was around, and Viera kept watch in the skies, "What happened? Chelse?"

Chelsea simply said nothing, still trying to recovere from the shock her body was experiencing and coughed up blood for a moment, shaking her head, "I-I don't know. First thing I thought was that Kurome was dead. I could have sworn I stuck a needle in the spot Mister Tong taught me. That should have killed her, but it didn't. Next thing I know, my arms is cut off, a bullet went through my gut, and I'm pinned to the ground by Natala."

Donney stared up confused as he repeated what she said last, "Natala? You mean the guy you were instructed to kill but didn't?"

She nodded in reply, "I was so surprised, I couldn't move, and that was what left me open." Chelsea sighed and scolded herself, "I'm so stupid... I should have done the deed those years back. He wouldn't be suffering the way he is right now"

Chelsea's sorrow was felt by Donney as well. He knew that Chelsea was in love with Natala, and he knew what happened during the aftermath of her confrontation with him. In the end, they didn't let their differing factions affect their love for each other, but decided that distancing themselves was the best way of ensuring safety. That is, however, if they kept their relationship secret. In summation Kurome had been onto the whole situation from the start, and killed Natala in cold blood for his betrayal to the Empire. Little did Chelsea nor Natala know when Chelsea was secretly keeping watch on Natala after their confrontation, was that Kurome had already had Yatsufusa in possession. From that point on, Natala had become a puppet all those years.

As Donney finished patching up the wound on Chelsea's stomach, he sat down next to her and watched Viera wander about.

"How did you make it out?" He asked.

Chelsea felt the dull pain still radiating from her stomach, and a numb pain coming from her arm. "I-I used Gaea Transformations trump card. It created a complete copy of my body at the time it was used. A living, breathing copy of me, except it was without a soul. Like a zombie. I was then teleported not a long way off from here, and that was were I made my escape." Chelsea finished explaining as she tried searching her person for a lollipop. "Ah..." She had realized that she kept all her lollipops in Gaea Transformation, and had no spares on her.

"You know, nothing but lollipop's is bad for you Chelse." Donney responded holding a whole carrot towards her as he was already munching on one. "Your bloods still painstakingly sweet."

"Weirdo" Chelsea weakly smiled as she took Donney's offering. Vegetables weren't her forte, but it would suffice for the time being.

"What about Kurome?"

"I don't know. The needle didn't kill her but... the poison should weaken her tremendously."

"Well, at least you got Bols..." Donney began to say before stopping himself. "Bols..."

"Ah... I did." She replied, suddenly remembering that moment between her and Kurome. "But Kurome... there's something terribly amiss."

Donney gave her the look of question, "What do you mean?"

"Her eyes, there was nothing human about them. Those were the eyes of monsters." Merely trying to remember that scene gave Chelsea chills. She nibbled slowly on her carrot, being careful not to overextend her stomach.

"Did we underestimate the amount of augmentation she received through drugs?"

"Drastically" She coldly replied.

A shake of his head came from Donney as he scowled the Empire for doing such experiments on it's own soldiers, "A stab to the neck, dodging a bullet and a homing arrow. Who knows what else she could be capable of."

"I don't know, but I'm just glad it comes to a stop now." Chelsea bitterly said, "No matter what the cost." The tourniquet served as a reminder of how much Chelsea was willing to sacrifice to stop Kurome.

Without anything else to talk about, and awkward silence engulfed the two of them. Donney began thinking about Chelsea's attraction to Tatsumi. He was secretly jealous, being able to easily attract Chelsea like that. "Chelsea, do you like Tatsumi?" He felt as if it were an out of place question, but since they couldn't do anything but wait for the moment, he had to kill some time.

"Tatsumi..." Chelsea quietly responded, resting her head on the tree behind her, "Sort of." She winced as moving caused her wound to radiate with pain.

"What's so special about him? I've seen the way you look at him." It was quite an issue that Donney wanted to find out the answers to, although, he didn't realize how much he was prying.

Chelsea curved an eyebrow towards Donney, taking note of his unusually curious attitude for the moment, but she soon turned back to her mellow face and responded, "He reminds me of Natala. That smile of his is just like Natala's. But in reality, I'm not necessarily in love with him. I think there's someone else for that job." she smiled lightly over her tired face.

"And who might that be? Akame?" Donney asked, stuffing the rest of his carrot in his mouth.

"Nope"

"Leone?"

"Hell no" Chelsea responded, flicking Donney in the side of the head.

"Then who?" It was obvious that Donney was not considering Mein for a reason as he rubbed his head.

"Mein"

Donney wasn't very amused if Chelsea was making a joke, but at this point, he wasn't sure whether or not she was joking around right now despite her weakly playful face. "Seriously?"

Chelsea nodded, "I've seen the way she looks at him. Akame considers him a close friend, and Leone likes to screw with him. But Mein is cold to him on purpose" She said holding a finger up with her remaining hand.

"Mein and Tatsumi..." Donney reluctantly repeated as his expression showed a somewhat comical disbelief.

"Haha... Ahahaha!" Chelsea began to laugh. "Just look at your face. What is it? Do you like Mein Donney? I've seen the way you two always fight about the smallest things! Ah!" She clutched her side from the pain. The laughing caused her side to contract.

It was indeed true. Mein and Donney were constantly at each others necks. Often times they would fight over small stuff, like petty arguments and chores. But more often than not, they would fight over who's the better sniper since both of them are marksmen.

Even after showing his concern for Chelsea, "N-No!" Donney responded irritatingly, not even wanting to think about being together with Mein, "Not in a million years!"

"Then who is it? Is it Akame? Or maybe even Boss Najenda?" Chelsea leered as she leaned toward him trying to maintain a cheeky smile, "Don't tell me it's Leone!"

Out of impulse, Donney stared into her lively eyes and her toothy smile, and remembered why he fell in love with her in the first place. Without thinking about it, leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. It was unexpected from both Chelsea and Donney as Viera's voice rang inside Donney's head.

"_Go get 'em Donney."_ Her voice rang in encouragement, but Donney didn't hear it. His mind was too occupied with what he just did.

Chelsea's lips tasted of iron and sugar. As he pulled back, Donney began to stutter, trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere he just created. "I-It's you..."

She was silent for a moment, before beginning to chuckle lightly, trying to avoid the judgment of her side again, "Was that what you wanted to tell me all those years ago?"

Donney smiled as he leaned against the tree beside her, "I was a stupid teenager back then." He responded, remembering that time as clear as glass.

"Well you're a stupid adult now~" Chelsea replied, slapping him lightly on the cheek, "You should have seen the look on your face after that kiss."

Not knowing how to respond, "I-I..." He murmured while blushing.

"It's alright Donney. You know how you always ask me what's on my mind?" She inquired, giving him a glance. He nodded, "Well right now, you're on my mind." Chelsea said. Her eyes were closed as she smiled lightly, breathing steadily trying to endure the pain with her optimism.

"Chelsea?"

"I-... I think... I should see a doctor..." She began to weakly say once more. Her skin was paler than normal, despite blushing slightly. It was most likely due to the blood loss that she's suffered thus far.

Donney quickly got up in response and helped Chelsea up, "I think so too. C'mon, we'll meet up with the others."

"No..."

"What? Chelsea, what do you mean no?"

Chelsea shot a look at him, "That would be a bad idea."

"What are you talking about?! Everyone will think you're dead!" Donney concernedly said.

"That's the idea." Chelsea said, giving her point of view. "Gaea Transformation is gone. I'm without an Imperial Arms, and I have no fighting experience. My only way of being an effective assassin is now gone, and I'm just dead weight without anything to provide."

"Don't say that Chelsea!" It hurt Donney deeply to hear Chelsea saying this, "You could do what you used to do! You know? Back when Mister Tong still taught you. Lure them in and strike when they least expect it!" It was futile, Donney knew that. He was just spouting out excuses now.

Chelsea shook her head, disregarding what he said, "Things aren't so simple now Donney."

"I-I know... it's just..."

"Things are a whole lot easier when everyone thinks you're dead." Chelsea began as they continued trudging through the forest. "It would be a burden to the Night Raid if I were still around. I would put their lives at risk if mine were in danger. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Donney couldn't argue as he shook his head, "I know where you're going with this Chelse"

"And with everyone thinking I'm dead..." Chelsea accidentally ignored him because of the intense pain growing on her, "I'll have a clean slate. And the Empire will never know what hit them. Promise me, that you won't tell anyone in the Night Raid."

"But Chelsea!"

"Promise me Donney! Please. I know how much pain I will cause them, but it's for the benefit of all of us. So please..." Chelsea pleaded regretfully.

The cleared through the forest and onto a path towards the nearby town. Donney knew a few spies from the Revolutionary Army stationed there to watch the capital and relay information from the Army to the Night Raid.

While keeping a low profile, Donney quietly knocked on the door of a small hideout in the alleyways. There were careful footsteps. A looking glass was at the door in case officers show up, and the door opened. It was a girl, mid teens, "Donney? What are you doing here?"she asked before gasping when seeing Chelsea. "C-Chelsea!? W-wait what's going on?"

"Never mind what's going on right now Patricia." Donney replied as he set Chelsea to sit down on a chair. He promptly ordered them to help him apply proper first aid to Chelsea as their confused expressions stayed planted on their faces.

After explaining Chelsea's current situation to the young spies, they nodded in sound understanding.

"I'm assuming it's safe for her to stay here." Donney said, heading towards the door. "I'm going to see if everyone else is okay."

"Wait! Donney!" Patricia warned before pausing a moment. "Be careful out there. The Jaegers are still lingering around."

"You aren't going to tell him about what happened?" Lyle, Patricia's partner asked as they both glanced at a drowsy Chelsea. Both he and Patricia were among the children that belong to Miles's group of orphans.

Patricia shook her head, and Chelsea asked in inquiry, "What... happened?"

Both of them hesitated for a moment, re imagining the horror and fear they felt when they first saw the scene. A scene that Chelsea was all too familiar with.

**ooo**

"Ch...Chels...ea...?" Tatsumi's eyes were blank with speechless horror as he dropped to his knees. Incursio clanked with the soft beating of rain while people's gasp of disgust and fear echoed through the town square. In the center of town, a pike was erected. It towered over the town, high enough for everyone to see. High enough to witness the humiliation and desecration of an enemy of the empire, and a friend of Tatsumi's.

Orange strands of hair were blowing with the wind, obscuring the closed eyes of Chelsea. The bloody pike was now her body, with her head impaled atop. Tears of crimson stained her pale cheeks, truly crying tears of pain.

Tatsumi felt the tears drop from his own cheeks as he tried his best to keep quiet. "This... this defilement...!" he muttered under his own breath, releasing himself from Incursio. He knelt there, in plain clothing as his tears became indifferent from the rain that was falling. "Chelsea... No one deserves to die like this..." He looked up once more, trying to imagine that this was simply a dream, but to no avail. Chelsea was gone.

His mind continued to linger onto emptiness until he heard wet footsteps stop beside him. He turned to see Donney, whose expression was silent with a covered mouth.

"Chelsea..." He whispered, turning to Tatsumi. Donney's eyes were clearly distraught. "Tatsumi... let's go."

This reaction from Donney wasn't what Tatsumi had thought. It was calm, albeit disgusted, but still calm. Among the Night Right, Tatsumi knew that Donney and Chelsea were the closest, and for him to get a reaction like this wasn't something Tatsumi could understand. "What do you mean let's go?!" He argued angrily.

"I said, let's go. We can't linger around here, lest the Jaegers find us." Donney retaliated, responding to Tatsumi's anger with anger himself.

"Are you mad?! You can't just leave her like that can you?!" Tatsumi grabbed Donney by the shoulder as he tried to force him to face him. "You can't just leave her to be humiliated like that? Will you?!"

Donney broke from Tatsumi's grip, "We'll be putting ourselves in danger if we do that. And that's not what Chelsea would have wanted." He shot Tatsumi a glance. It wasn't Tatsumi's irrational thinking that made him angry inside. It was the promise he made to Chelsea about not telling anyone in the Night Raid she was still alive that made him conflicted and angry.

Tatsumi was confused. "_Why is Donney acting this way?"_ he thought to himself as he stared back at Chelsea, and bit down on his anger before turning away.

**ooo**

"You mean...?!" Chelsea began to shiver as Patricia and Lyle told her about what was on display in the town square. "My head... on a pike..." Her eyebrows were curved upward in pain as she rubbed her head. Then all of a sudden, that dream that came to her many years back began to flash again in her mind. Those gruesome visions that came to her as a child made her sick, and uneasy.

Patricia began to cry as she gripped Chelsea's hand. "I-It was so terrifying Chelsea... to see that! A-and when I saw you at the door... I just d-don't want to lose anyone a-after Miles went m-missing!"

Chelsea began to feel guilty for some sort of reason. Just simply by watching Patricia cry made her feel her pain.

"We all miss Miles..." Lyle said, taking a seat as his muscular arms poured some tea for all three of them. It was a painful silence that ensued them from former times.

Those memories in her younger days kept a sentimental touch on Chelsea's mind. Part of her wanted to die in order to join the rest of her friends that went onward, but she knew that would adversely affect those around her. The effects were sitting right in front of her, and she could almost predict what kind of reaction the rest of the Night Raid would get once they learned the news.

It pained Chelsea greatly, but it was all for the better a part of her thought.

**ooo**

"She's... what...?" Lubbock's shrill voice broke the silence that came from the remaining members of the Night Raid. The light rain was beating on the cabin as the members sat around, lamenting over the grim news that Tatsumi had relayed.

"She's gone..." Akame sadly iterated, hardly being able to contain her sorrow.

"Donney, what happened?! You said you would go after her!" Lubbock asked, turning towards a Donney who had his face to the window. He was silent.

"Donney!"

"Oi, answer the boy Donney." Leone said planting a hand on Donney's shoulder.

"I was too late." He simply said, sighing deeply to vent his frustration. "Not only could I have not made it in time, but it's not possible for me to fight three enemies at once. Especially one as deadly as Natala."

Everyone at this point was surprised at Donney's calm demeanor, but they all assumed he was simply holding it in.

"And her head was put on display in town correct?" Najenda asked, quietly putting out the cigar in her mouth.

"Correct." Akame responded lowly. "By Kurome, most likely."

"Kurome..." Tatsumi grumbled from behind the hands covering his face, concealing his anger to the best of his ability.

"I'll have our spies take her down as soon as possible. No person deserves to be put on display and humiliated like that."

"Put on display like that..." Leone growled angrily, punching the wall. "And we were just getting to be good friends too..."

"In terms of skill, I feel that Chelsea was the most skilled of us all." Susanoo commented, folding his arms in adamant respect for a fallen comrade.

Lubbock scratched his hair, feeling uneasy, "I should have stopped her when I had the chance... I should have!" He expressed his regret.

"Don't go moping about her anymore." Mein responded, "She failed her task. She's a failure as an assassin now, just like how she said Sheele and Bulat were failures. How ironic that she herself ended up as one." There was hostility in her voice, but it seemed to be hiding something else. Everyone knew that Mein and Chelsea weren't on the best relationship, but this hostility coming from Mein was more than usual.

"Mein!" Akame shot back, disgruntled at the twin tailed girls inability to empathize with the mood of the Night Raid.

"What? I'm just reiterating what Chelsea said." Mein said standing up from her seat and heading out of the room, "Besides. Everyone should have seen this coming. I knew... I did." She said lastly before leaving.

Everyone uncomfortably looked as Mein left the room, and the silence continued.

Leone glanced at Donney in worry, and was wondering why Donney was so invariably quiet about the whole situation. Tatsumi, although wasn't crying, was clearly trying to suppress his emotions. Donney on the other hand seemed to make no effort to compress any emotions from Leone's stand point.

To add, she smelt something strange about him, besides the obvious smell of carrots. She smelt trace amounts of Chelsea. It struck Leone as suspicious, but for the sake of not trying to attract attention, she kept it to herself.

"Donney, are you okay?" Leone asked him.

"Leone, do you sometimes hear the voices of the people you've killed?" He asked, watching Viera ruffle her feathers perched on a branch outside.

It was a sudden question, and everyone in the room was quiet surprised at a question like that.

"N-No I guess." Leone responded.

Donney turned to the window again. "I just hope that Chelsea can rest in peace, because most of her life up until now, the dead have haunted her."

"Just like Zank..." Akame commented, "Her guilt affected her as well."

"It sounds like a living hell." Donney replied quietly. "Doesn't it?"

**ooo**

"_The...pain..."_ Chelsea whispered to herself as her head began to flood with voices again. She couldn't think, all of them were talking, some were screaming. It got to the point where her head was searing with a sharp pain. Coupled with the constant numb pain of her missing arm and throbbing side, she would sometimes lie in her bed paralyzed with pain.

After the wave passed, Chelsea would lay there, lamenting over the pain she's caused people over the years. It was as if her purpose as an assassin was forgotten. "_Maybe that's it..._" Chelsea sat up in the wagon she was riding, thinking about Natala. "_Do I still want that dream, the dream of a good life?_"

"Bad dream?" Lyle asked as he turned to face her from steering the wagon.

"Sort of..." Chelsea said, rubbing her head.

It had almost been a week since the incident, and despite wanting to keep her being alive a secret, she had to tell someone she was still alive in order for her plans to go through. When asked by Donney what she intended to do next, she responded with a story that Mister Tong had told her many years back. It was about the voices in her head and the Western Kingdoms.

For some strange reason, the voices in her head have been out of control, and not even her headphones were preventing them from ringing in her ears anymore. They come and recede like waves, but she feared that it might reach the point where the waves will never recede. Chelsea felt that it's reached the point where if left alone for a while, she would eventually go insane.

The only possible lead to help stop this was a place that Mister Tong talked about many years ago. The place of his home, somewhere in the Western Kingdom's. Chelsea intended to travel there, but with strict border regulations, the only way for Chelsea to easily get out is with the aid of the Revolutionary Army.

With that, the only high ranking official in the Revolutionary Army she trusted with keeping her status a secret was one particular commander.

"We're here." Lyle said as they stopped at the entrance of a small town. The town was located to the southeast of the capital, and unbeknownst to the Empire, were big supporters of the Revolutionary Army.

As Chelsea stepped off the wagon, Lyle stopped her to say, "Good luck Chelsea. I hope that you find what you're looking for." He wished her the best of luck.

She gave him her thanks as she departed from him. "I hope so too."

The town was very quiet, bustling with both townsfolk and Revolutionary Army agents going about their day. The Empire did not pay much attention to the towns out this far, so this was considered a safe haven.

The peaceful atmosphere helped sooth Chelsea's restless mind as she stopped in front of a small store and knocked.

The door promptly opened, and a woman, before looking at Chelsea, asked, "I'm closed. What do you want?"

"It's me Chelsea. And I have a request, Miss Wimberly."

**A/N: Sorry about the long time no update, but I've been quite busy, and I've also been considering picking up my other stories again. But that'll depend on how much my work load would be. Anyways, this chapter was a little rushed since I wanted to update already, but it seems well paced to me. Oh well, it doesn't matter because Chelsea's alive! At least in my story, hehe. I feel bad for anyone who watched the anime last week, it came as a shocker to me in the manga and still makes me feel bad to this day. **

**Other than that, how's my writing? I can't help but feel my writing quality is dwindling a bit. Give me your thoughts and opinions, they'll be greatly appreciated!**


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